#flowers dont feel obligated to do this version of events

[hyper-lynx]

Chapter 6: Fireworks

Featuring @wizblr-blue-moon-ball's Lurien once more, and mentioning @flowers-the-sun-witch.

Time spun past and twirled through the air. The crowd of dancers had thinned slightly, so the dances had changed to mainly large group-oriented affairs, with much fewer couples routines. The food must have energized him, because Hemi was able to keep up with the rapid pace despite the ever-later hour of the night. The cats danced around each other, but not yet with each other -- both had an intuitive feeling that there would be some kind of great final dance at some point that they would need to be together for. Indeed, as the hour moved from three to four, an only-slightly overtired Lurien appeared at the bannister a second time, much as he had when the ball began. The music faded off, and then he started to speak.

“Esteemed guests! The hour is drawing late. We have prepared a final surprise for all of you. If you would please make your way to the atrium, then follow the signage to the newly opened sky garden. Please bring any spellcasting equipment you have handy.”

Excited murmurs crowded the air.

“A sky garden?! They had a sky garden the whole time and didn’t tell us?” Liam sounded actually betrayed. The two of them joined the stream of magi on their way through the great halls once more. The huge banners, the portraits, the tapestries, all were left behind as the guests made their way up a grand spiral staircase. A blue carpet had been laid along the path, but even without it the will of the crowd was impossible to misunderstand. 

“I wonder if it’ll be some kind of firework show?” Hemi mused to a stranger beside him.

“But then why’d they ask us to bright our spell foci? I bet it’ll be a brawl.”

Liam shook his head. “No way! It’s a garden, they probably just want to make sure it would be perfect for us. Maybe they put some sort of special decorations for the guests or something?” These and other likely or dubious ideas cluttered the atmosphere, until finally, everyone reached the doors to the sky garden.

In reality, the ‘sky garden’ was something of a cross between a balcony, the roof, and a summoning circle. Twelve gold-capped plinths were joined by a great rune circle embedded into the stone that formed the ground. Hyacinths, daisies, tulips, and a wide variety of bloomless plants that Hemi could not identify (but he thought maybe Liam could) grew from planters chiseled into the ground. At the center, Lurien stood atop a starburst of lunar sapphire that glowed in the night and hummed quietly with contained power. Precisely as many seats as there were guests still present were arranged in a circle within the ritual space between the plinths; the whole place was big enough that even with that many attendees, there were no issues sitting down. Flowers the Sun Witch took a place next to Liam, and the Goddess of Renewed Life Mai perched beside Hemi.

“In this place, long ago, on a night when the blue moon shone, Mistress Areth Lunacai channeled her power into raising this whole place skyward. Everything that has since been built onto the property was possible only due to that act of magic. Now the moon shines blue again. Wizards, warlocks, denizens of the arcane, I call upon you -- to look under your seat.”

Some shuffling, followed by confused or surprised whispers, carried on the thin air. Hemi bent down and noticed that, indeed, there was a small scroll left under his seat. Liam had instead been given a small talisman with the emblem of the moon. Hemi opened and examined it right away, and found that it was an invocation -- an invitation for arcane power to be released, and an encoded rule for how to channel it. It was quite elegantly done, actually. 

“Those of you identified as wizards will have received a copy of a channeling spell, and those who did not have been given a bound focus. Beneath me--” Lurien tapped his foot. “We have prepared a spell that will set the sky alight. It will be your job to direct that light with the spell or focus you have been provided. Express yourself in your power, and help me truly celebrate the arcane!”

Lurien stepped back, and put his hands together in front of him. The floor beneath him groaned and crackled as a spire of lightning rose from it. The light was almost frightening in ferocity. Liam clasped his hands around the talisman in his hand, and Hemi joined the rising choir of voices chanting the same spell. The air shook with power, words reinforcing words, until Lurien cast his hands to the sky, and the power became a pillar that streamed upward. As it traveled, branches of the light curled and broke off from the rest, and in these branches one could see the mages themselves expressed. As Liam’s head tilted, hundreds of glowing spheres appeared -- as he exhaled, the spheres were sent spiraling in wild patterns. Some branches shot far away in streaking comets -- others burst into chromatic blasts -- and others still grew in an expanding weave of colors that framed the moon. Hemi’s ears glowed and pulsed, and at his will, a fractal fracture appeared in space itself, growing and melding with all else above. As minutes passed, the sky immediately above the sky garden was overwhelmed with color and light.

With one final yell, Lurien detached the display from the mansion. Every guest lost their connection to the hypercomplex mass of light as it rose higher and began to break apart. As everyone took a breath of respite, the spell unfolded into a great interwoven structure that spread completely across the skies. Rivulets of power flowed in elaborate shapes; strands of ephemeral fabric wove together with vines and fragments that sparkled like diamond; the prismatic shapes of lovers danced until they melted into moonlight. 

Hemi stole a moment to look at the leopard beside him, and to his surprise, Liam was looking at him, too. The rainbow light covered both of them in a strange, beautiful pattern. WIthout a word, the two of them blinked at each other slowly. A moment later, Hemi leaned forward, and the two kissed and embraced. In reflection, they were surely not the only two who did this, but neither was thinking of that in the moment. After a few stolen seconds, they turned back to the sky and saw the celestial diorama above them. Hemi noticed Liam’s orbs of light accentuating the stars, acting as props or clumping together into planets that others’ magic revolved about. Liam noticed that the tears in reality Hemi had made acted as bridges, allowing distant parts of the weave to connect together as one.

And then, it was over. The light dispersed against the stars and the moon, and the emblem built into the sky garden was silent and dark. Some mages laid on the stones, seemingly exhausted, but Hemi and Liam’s hearts were both racing. The last fragments of the spell fluttered down as sparkling points that vanished as soon as they touched anything else.

When he returned to the center, Lurien’s wings did not glow quite as brightly, but he held himself together. “The ball will continue until sunrise.” He announced to anyone listening. “I hope your final hour with us is fulfilling. If any of you have your own musical skill, the floor is open to guest performances. It has been a wonderful joy to be your host tonight.” A simple sendoff to a spectacular night. The lynx and the leopard looked at eachother again. The leopard’s face bore something like fear, but he was also overjoyed. Hemi was, too. He sat back and looked onto the moon, by now close to the horizon, as if its cue had been given to leave. In a moment, Hemi would stand up, and the night would end, but not yet. For now he heard the people move and watched the stars overhead.

Two Cats Attend the Blue Moon Ball

Chapter 1: Dusk

Featuring @wizblr-blue-moon-ball's Lurien and @flowers-the-sun-witch, along with Hemi and Liam of course. This is the first chapter of probably several that I will make for some of the prompts. Character appearances will vary and can be removed on request!

A calm wind blew over Wizard Island Island’s coastal region, bringing a mild warmth over the old stones and dozens of pointy-hatted towers dotting the landscape. The sky was overcast, but it was clear despite this that the sun was near the horizon. The shimmering line of the ocean adorned the horizon. Along a path of well-trodden cobbles, the air bent and tore, until, with a burst of chromatic power, two felines landed onto the earth. Hemi, wreathed in the gentle fabric of his deep indigo dress, felt the lukewarm air suddenly about his legs until the dress behaved itself. The emblem of the moon was dim in the low light, but still plainly visible. Shortly behind him, Liam practically flowed out of the rift. His gown had the general design of the lunar hibiscus -- pink and, in Hemi’s opinion, somewhat bulbous, but still quite elegant. He held the corners of the dress in a way that suggested he had experience landing from a dimensional vortex in such attire. Once both cats exited the distortion, reality was quick to mend itself.

“Aha, we’re-- um.” Hemi looked around, then let his head tilt. “Where’s--”

They stood at the long-forgotten gates to a property that was seemingly completely absent. There was not a trace of any building -- in its place, an immense crater marred the landscape. The only thing that remained was a tarnished silver archway and a few mana crystals that poked out from the ground at the edges of the place.

Liam gasped. “Did something--?”

“Impossible. If something this big was -- gone, I’d have heard about it. Besides, that gate… must have been abandoned for a hundred years.” Hemi closed his eyes and tried to visualize the route on the invitation he’d been given, but he was certain it led to this general area, and there shouldn’t be any other large estate in the vicinity. Were all his days of anticipation really --

“Oh--! Hemi, look!”

Hemi opened his eyes to the sight of what looked like an angelic being descending through the clouds. He plummeted rapidly and then came to a sudden stop in the air just beyond the gate, not displacing any air or showing any discomfort in the process. An elf with radiant wings, blue into yellow, clothed in shining white silks. Despite his short stature, the elf had a golden power behind his eyes that commanded respect. The emblem of the Blue Moon shone in iridescent stone, adorning his crown.

“Greetings! Hyperlynx Hemi, I presume?” The elf spoke with a quiet tone that nonetheless carried through the emptiness. “I see you’ve found our ‘back entrance’.”

“Oh--! Um, hello, sir--?” Hemi stammered in response as both cats approached the gate.

“Lurien is fine. In any case, I’ve arranged transport for you and your partner. Please proceed through the gate.”

Hemi tilted his head to the opposite side and gazed into the spiky, terrifying chasm just beyond the rusted passage. “Um-- I ah, don’t have any flight spell active…” He glanced at Liam, who shook his head silently.

“That’s fine, sir. I assure you there are accommodations for all creatures at the Blue Moon Ball.” He looked down at some kind of brass handheld timekeeping device. “Although, I would insist you move swiftly. The event will be starting momentarily.”

Hemi huffed softly and looked to Liam, who took the lead. Liam gathered his gown about his feet and cautiously stepped through the gate. He half expected the world to suddenly burst into light and color around him, but no such thing happened. Instead, his foot met with a soft resistance, an invisible surface. It felt a bit like walking across a mattress. Seeing the leopard defy gravity, Hemi followed suit.

“Impressive spell, but where is--” Hemi was cut off when the platform was suddenly thrust skyward. The earth fell away, and waves of amber light emanated from the invisible surface above them as it blocked the wind. Lucien cracked a soft smile -- the emblem across his chest shimmered softly as the three beings were brought up. Even the clouds broke around the barrier above them, until--!

The sun, from its place ever-lower on the horizon, lavished golden light across a wondrous skyscape. A great layer of clouds the size of mountains formed the base, speckled with tiny sections of floating stone -- likely pieces of distant floating islands that came in the wind across the sea. Beyond the shelf of clouds, the light glinted on the water. Above it all, though, a grand estate was situated. The main island consisted of an immense floating mansion. In a way, it was almost more like a town  -- the lower section was something of a hull, with docking ports for flying ships and tiered gardens protruding from openings in its sides. Atop, the mansion sprawled across a massive expanse of once-natural earth, with what must have been hundreds of rooms and halls. Near the center, the peak of a wizard’s tower wis visible, adorned with the same lunar emblem.

Lucien watched the two cats take it all in as he platform moved in a grand circuit through the air above the venue. “Sunset really is wonderful at this altitude, isn’t it?” He noted. The light cast off everything, and the shadow of the floating manor lengthened forever across the clouds. Hemi took a moment to glance down at Liam, whose eyes were literally wide with wonder. 

Their dutiful invisible chariot let them down in the plaza just before the main gates. It seemed nearly everyone else was already somewhere inside, since this courtyard was otherwise occupied only by a trio of gnomes who seemed to pay the cat-men no mind. Lucien directed their attention to a statue of a human woman, depicted 20 feet tall in marble stricken with veins of some shimmering blue mineral. Water flowed from small slots below the woman’s feet into small channels that fed this section of the gardens.

“This is the original owner of the manor, Mistress Areth Lunacai. It’s said she discovered the arcane properties of lunar sapphire, and therefore mastered the art of permanent levitation. In her time, her genius was not recognized, so she wrested her family’s estate into the skies, where it still remains.”

“Wow…” Liam looked up at her. Hemi, however, was already distracted by looking at the venue itself. As the light of dusk began to fade, Hemi crossed his arms over his chest.

“Lucien, sir?” He interjected. “Are we late for-- anything?”

Lucien raised an eyebrow. “You accuse me of being late to my own ball?”

“Um--! Well, no, I--”

The host smiled. “No, it’s understandable. You are actually somewhat early. While most attendees have made their way to the main hall and its waiting rooms, the formal schedule will not commence for half an hour at minimum. Plenty of time, no?” Hemi nodded and looked to the side. He thanked the gods for the impenetrably thick fur that hid his now-red cheeks from view, then took a deep breath. There was no great rush. This was an event for fun, after all. The sleepless night before preparing… the weeks of anticipation… It all led to this night, where everything was arranged for him. He walked closer beside Liam.

Lurien turned over his shoulder, towards a figure in a blue dress who had appeared amidst the gardens. “Ah, I see a new guest has arrived. Excuse me.” Lucien bowed and began to gracefully stride towards the newcomer.

“Hey Hemi, do you want to go meet them? The person over there, I mean?”

Hemi looked to the newcomer, then back at the red wisps of frozen clouds high above. “I think I’ll watch the sunset for now. You go ahead -- we’re all going to the main hall anyway, right?”

Liam nodded and followed Lurien’s path through the gardens as quickly as he could without letting any dirt get on his outfit. By the time he arrived, the host was already leading the other person back up a scenic route along the terrain’s edge towards the fountain. Their long brown hair -- adorned with red flowers -- was tied into a set of four pigtails that dangled about elven ears and onto the shoulders of a truly cute blue dress, tied with a red belt bearing a once-live sunflower. They looked up at the approaching beastman with only momentary confusion. Lucien, without even looking in Liam’s direction, nodded. 

“I’ll allow you two a moment to become acquainted. There’s a matter I’ll need to attend to.” Lucien announced. A moment later, a great eagle flew dangerously close to the edge of the island and began circling the courtyard. Lucien sighed and, with a subtle movement of his wings, lifted off to redirect the bird’s rider.

“Oh gosh!” The witch put a hand against her mouth and giggled.

Liam shook his head. “Some people…” He turned his attention back to the immediate environs. “Well-- ah, greetings!” Liam gave a curtsy. “My name’s Liam.”

The witch returned the favor. “I’m Flowers, the Sun Witch. It’s nice to meet you! I like your dress.”

“Thank you~!” Liam twirled around a little. “Yours is very cute.”

The witch smiled, but didn’t reply verbally. The two watched for a moment as the now distant eagle followed Lucien -- from this range, a point of light -- towards the arcane beast stables on the lower levels. “I’ve not seen a dress of that style in a while. Lunar hibiscus, right?” Liam’s head tilted slightly. “How did you--”

“I don’t call myself ‘Flowers’ for no reason. The color’s pretty accurate, too. Though, those flowers are pretty rare on the island…”

“Ah, I’m not actually from here. I’m not even properly a wizard -- that title belongs to my partner. I’m his plus-one.”

“Oh!” Flowers looked along the rim of the floating landmass. “Is that him?” She pointed out Hemi, sitting alone on an outcropping, watching the redness leave the sky as night took over.

“Yeah…” Liam put his hand behind his head. “He’s a little shy. I’m sure he’ll warm up when things kick off.”

“Flowers nodded, then tapped her foot. “I hope the host is back soon… I hope everything’s alright with the bird situation.”

As if on cue, on a beam of light, Lucien appeared next to the two guests. “I apologize for the wait, Mx. Flowers. I hope you’ll forgive  my cutting your tour short for the moment, as the floor will open momentarily. I suggest you both make your way to the main hall and meet some more of the guests in the meantime.”

“Ah-! Of course, thank you.” Flowers began to walk down the garden path towards Hemi. Lucien, apparently satisfied, vanished into light.

“Um--” Liam trotted after her surprisingly quick gait. “The fastest path is to the right.”

“We need to collect your partner, don’t we?” The sun witch glanced back at him. “Besides, I need to compliment his dress, too.”

By the time they arrived, the sun had completely set, so Hemi was just staring off into the swirling expanse of the clouds below. His ears were somewhat askew-- when Liam approached, they swiveled to face him.

“Hey, we’re supposed to go inside soon.” Liam let a gentleness into his tone.

Hemi stretched and stood. He used a quick gesture to disconnect the dirt from his dress’ fabric, so it became fully clean in an instant. When he turned around, he started at the sight of the witch who accompanied Liam.

“Oh--! Um--” Hemi gave a clumsy bow. “Hello-- I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you.”

The witch extended her hand. “I’m Flowers. What’s your name?”

“...Hemi.” He said, and shook her hand with his paw. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“You as well. I like your dress~!” She told him. Hemi’s ears flipped, but he smiled in response.

A latch sounded at the main door. “Ah, it seems it’s time to enter. Have a wonderful time, you two--!” Flowers curtseyed again, and was off.

Liam looked at Hemi with a soft grin..

“What? I was surprised…”

“Nothing, nothing.” He took Hemi’s hand. “Another adventure, right?”

“--Right.”

The two cats proceeded towards the gathering group of wizards and the great oaken doors. The blue moon shone bright overhead.