#its a lunar thing that he mUST glow at any opportunity

[loving-delusions]

i could feel lunar staring at sun deadpan the entire time he was monologuing ong

link to the episode (its already a year ago... i feel so old)

plus, link to the evil lunar design i made :)

[tenspontaneite]

The Ceracurist (Chapter 3/?)

Even after these past months, she wasn’t yet used to it. Another Full Moon spent alone.

(Chapter length: 10.4k. ao3 link)

---

“Did you go to the game night?” Was Ethari’s first question when she called him the next day.

She rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, Ethari.”

He looked delighted. “Did you make friends?”

She hesitated, thinking about it. “…Well, I did beat them all at Antiquitora,” she said eventually. “And you were right, they did appreciate that.” She paused, and added “I’m probably going back, I think.”

She spent the next ten minutes having details pried out of her so warmly and kindly it hardly felt like an interrogation at all. Ethari was good at that. Finally she secured her escape via the need to leave for training, and was farewelled with considerably less fretting than usual. When the call dropped, she was about to shut down the Sunbeam module entirely, but then-

New Contact Requests, said the alert in the corner. Rayla blinked, nonplussed, and opened it, already having a decent idea of what she’d find. Sure enough, there were three new requests from codes she recognised: Kazi, Nihatasi, and Callum. She lingered there for a while, feeling bizarrely overwhelmed, then finally accepted all three of them.

She didn’t linger by the computer, after that – she had training to get to. Rayla paused at the door to perform a final once-over of her armour, then grabbed her swords and left.

 ---

 Rayla stumbled back into her room in late afternoon, covered in about three different kinds of mud and her body aching all-over in the aftermath of prolonged exertion. She spent the next two hours with rigid discipline: cleaning herself, cleaning her armour, checking her weapons. She cooked unenthusiastically and ate, then finally felt justified in utter collapse. She landed face-first into her bed and fell asleep immediately.

Three hours later, she woke to a stirring of magic in her veins, prickling over her skin, all the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Slowly, she blinked her eyes open, and pushed herself up; every hint of soreness from training was completely gone. She turned her eyes to the window, staring at the Moon rising full and resplendent past the horizon. Something deep and instinctive in her delighted at the sight of it. But something else twisted, sharp with the pang of homesickness.

Even after these past months, she wasn’t yet used to it. Another Full Moon spent alone. She sighed, and tried not to think of the festivities that would surely be beginning back home. It was moonrise; Ethari and Runaan would be at the Circle by now. Had the dancing already started? With the Moon this high, it must have.

She stared unblinkingly out of the window, turning thoughts over and over in her head. It wasn’t right to be alone at Full Moon. It wasn’t right to spend it all indoors, either. She couldn’t do much about the first thing, but the second…

Silent, Rayla slipped outside. A few of her wingmates were out in the common room, chattering drunkenly with each other near the table. She blinked, slowly, and exhaled. When she passed, they didn’t see her; only started with surprise at the open and close of the door. She crept through the streets like a ghost, visiting each of the parks and training grounds in turn until she finally found one unoccupied: a small stand of well-kept trees, and a fountain that reflected the full body of the Moon in its burbling waters. It would do.

It was no Circle. There were no runes in the ground – nothing here that awaited the careful precision of the lunar dances, nothing that would light up at her passing. But it was better than nothing. Rayla pulled at the moonlight until she was nothing but shadows flickering in the shadows of the trees, and danced.

There were plenty of moondances that could be done alone, and she circled the fountain with all of them, one by one. A tracery of magic hummed in the air at her passing, whispers of light following her; magic summoned by her motions, without the guidance of a Circle’s shaping. Even formless and aimless, it was beautiful. So, for the pleasure of it, she spun through those motes of moonlight and held them flickering in the shadows of her skin; light and dark woven together.

When she was done, she felt…not joyous, maybe, or exhilarated, as a celebration back home might have left her. But she was satisfied. Calm, and a little less sad. With the Full Moon still high above her, its magic brimming in her veins, Rayla headed home once more.

She didn’t bother to hide herself this time, and when she came through the door and passed by the remaining wingmates still up and awake, they saw her perfectly well: skin night-dark, eyes glowing, the edges of her form blurring into the shadows. They were all of them Sunfire and Skywing, and went a little quiet as she went by them; she wondered if they’d ever seen one of her kind at Full Moon before. Somehow, she doubted it.

Finally, Rayla arrived at her door, disarmed its security, and closed it behind her. She sighed, standing for a moment in the moonlight through her window, and considered it. Sleep would be a lost cause for another few hours, probably. So, somewhat inevitably, she ended up checking the computer. Browsing the mageskein was probably the best way to kill a few hours, and it wasn’t like she had anything else to do, this time of night.

Except: her Sunbeam module was still on, humming inside its casing, and…when she looked, it had projected a few message alerts onto the screen. Hesitantly, she checked them.

One was from Ethari, wishing her a good Moon, and entreating her once again to visit a Circle for it. Somewhat belated, that. One was from Kazi, confirming the time of their rematch tomorrow, as well as the address. Nihatasi had sent another, packed with effusive praise for her gaming excellence, insistence that she return, and an offer to come by the house whenever she wanted. Rayla shook her head at that, reluctantly amused. It wasn’t as though she’d met many nomads before – not in a social setting, anyway – but so far, Nihatasi more than matched their reputation for being aggressively sociable.

The last message was from Callum, and she steadfastly pretended that she wasn’t any more interested in it than the rest. He’d cheerfully thanked her for coming to the game night, said he hoped she’d come again, and then made an inquiry about her gaming tastes. Did she play computer games? If so, which were her favourites?

With the slow, halting uncertainty of the socially awkward, Rayla responded to all of them except Ethari’s. Kazi’s was easy enough, she just had to say ‘thanks’ and ‘see you tomorrow’. The other two took more doing. To Nihatasi, she expressed her thanks, and her assurances that she intended to come to a game night again. She said nothing about the house visit. To Callum, she reiterated her intentions to return, and admitted that, yes, she did like computer games, but hadn’t had the opportunity to play many of them, for lack of the necessary modules or a computer with the right specifications.  

Given the hour, she certainly didn’t expect any response, so she switched active modules to the mageskein to start browsing. News headlines on the home site vied for her attention: something about the outcome of the latest Katolis-Evenere expedition into the wastelands; the most recent public appearance of the Dragon Prince with his esteemed parents; a gossip piece about some Katolian royal’s birthday. She checked the second one for images, and sure enough, there he was: the young prince Azymondias, still tiny in comparison to his queen mother…and, in the background, a few Dragonguard standing at the ready. Rayla spotted her parents and smiled. She clicked to transfer the picture through its Sunbeam link and waited.

The other module hummed, her computer making distressed noises as it attempted juggling the inputs of Sunbeam and Mageskein at once. The unit at home wouldn’t have had any trouble, but this one…she sighed, and waited, and was eventually rewarded when her Sunbeam successfully imported the image and displayed it full-fidelity, with all the depth and nuance of lighting that a flat picture could never convey. She filed it away, and was about to switch back, when she saw the alert.

A new message. At this hour? It had to be at least two in the morning by now, surely. She checked her clock to be sure, and, yep. 2:14am. She eyed the icon with consternation, then opened it.

Callum had responded. She stared, brow furrowing as she read. Hey, glad to hear back from you! He opened, cheerfully failing to acknowledge the fact that it was currently stupidly late. The rest of it was perfectly normal too; commiserating about her lack of access to proper computing, commenting that yeah, I didn’t get to play any EX games until I moved here, and you know what WX graphics are like, and which ones did you get to play? Any I’d know about?

Rayla reread its entirety several times, mildly flummoxed. At Full Moon her emotions were all closer to the surface than usual, so there was an undeniable thread of glee in her chest about this unexpected late-night contact, but…well, she was curious. In her limited experience with the ways of other students, the only reasons a non-Moonshadow would be up this late would be ‘partying’ or ‘insomnia’. Or ‘last-minute coursework’, but that was unlikely to apply when term was already over. So: You’re up late, she wrote, without thinking about it, and sent it back without responding to any of his actual questions. She’d begun composing a belated second message, but apparently Callum was a lot speedier with typing than she was.

Haha, yeah, I kind of lost track of time. Gaming, incidentally. She thought he must be used to significantly faster systems and transfer times than she was, because that was the entirety of that message, and then he sent another one: What about you? What are you doing up?

Rayla blinked, then settled herself a little more comfortably in her chair, since it seemed like, well. Like there might be a conversation happening, here. She brought the keyboard further forward. It’s Full Moon, she responded to him, a little dryly. Her computer took its sweet time about sending the message, as usual.

Oh. It is? After a pause, during which he presumably looked out of a window or something, he said Huh. So it is. Does it keep you awake?

She paused. Kind of, she wrote, slowly, and then wasn’t quite sure how much more to divulge. Eventually, she wrote It’s kind of hard to sleep through when it’s still high. I’ll be okay in a couple hours.

That must be so cool, he answered, which seemed a weird thing to say to a statement of Moon-induced insomnia. I’ve used artefacts to cast moon-magic before, but it must feel totally different when you’ve got the arcanum. What’s it like?

Rayla stared at her screen. She recalled the implications of him being a mage student, and was suddenly brimming with curiosity. I don’t know, I’m not a mage, she wrote, and then paused. Do you cast a lot of artefact magic, or was that a one-time thing?

She probably should have just outright asked about the mage student thing, rather than trying to be cagey about it. He probably wouldn’t have minded. Except, that turned out to be unnecessary, because the next thing he wrote, as if it were perfectly natural and unsurprising, was Well, I’m doing a thaumaturgy / thaumatology masters, so I definitely cast a lot of magic, yeah. Then, while she was still gawping at that, he followed it up with Listen, do you want to call?

What? She sent back, astonished, still in the middle of trying to process the concept of a human thaumaturgy student. She couldn’t quite get her head around it. How did that even work?

It’s okay if you don’t, he clarified. But your Sunbeam seems to have kind of a lot of connection lag, so it’d probably be faster to talk, you know?

Rayla was, in fact, using a fairly old edition of the Sunbeam module, which did have to establish a new connection for every individual message it sent and received. It was what was cheapest, and the lag was just…an unavoidable side-effect. She called more often than she messaged anyway, so it was rarely relevant. Except, apparently, now. It’s two in the morning, Callum, she sent to him, bewildered.

And we’re both awake, he pointed out, as if it was perfectly reasonable to call someone you’d only met twice before in the middle of the night.

Her first instinct, fuelled by bemusement and social anxiety, was to say no. Her second instinct was quick to the scene, with some very definite opinions about interacting with Callum, even at as weird an hour as this. She hesitated, wavering.

In the end, it was a glance at the Moon through the window that decided her. Rayla was emphatically not a mystical person, but even so, there were things that were deeply culturally ingrained. And one of those things was Full Moon is community time. Family, or friends, or a wider community – it didn’t really matter, but you weren’t supposed to be alone. This…probably counted.

Yeah, okay, she typed in the end, foot tapping under the desk with a frisson of tension. But only for a bit.

He didn’t waste any time about it, just sent the call request. Rayla took a quick moment to check she hadn’t made a mess of herself dancing, realised it was something of a moot point when everything attached to her was veiled in shadows, and finally accepted the call.

Callum’s room was startlingly brightly-lit when it appeared in the monitor, and it hurt her eyes a bit. She blinked rapidly, fighting the urge to squint, and glimpsed what looked like a well-appointed loft room with an unexpectedly dense population of easels. She could see at least three of them, most of which occupied by some sort of paper or canvas. She blinked, nonplussed, then steadfastly did not react when his face came into view. It moved around jarringly as he adjusted the lightcatcher, then finally settled.

He grinned at the screen, looking sleepy but in good enough humour, and said “Hey! Wow your room is dark.”

Rayla opened her mouth, closed it, then blinked. “Oh, right, your eyes,” she said, embarrassed. She generally only ever called her family, whose night vision was perfectly equal to hers. Humans, as well as most other elf races, were not nearly as well-suited for the dark. “Can you even see anything?”

“I can see your eyes,” he volunteered helpfully, looking amused. “They’re glowing. Really brightly, actually.”

“Yeah, that’s the Full Moon,” Rayla told him, already standing to go for the switch of the wall lamp over her desk. She’d never actually had cause to use it before, other than testing it when she first moved in, so the soft blue light it produced was almost wholly unfamiliar. “Is that better?” She asked, moving back to her chair.

“Well, I can actually see your room now, so-“ he started, then cut off abruptly as she settled back down in front of the lightcatcher. “Oh, wow,” he said instead as he stared at her, eyes wide.

Rayla ignored the self-conscious twinge in her stomach and frowned at him, folding her arms. “What?” she demanded.

He startled, as if only just realising what he’d said. “Oh. Um, sorry?” he attempted, weakly. “It’s just – I’ve never seen a Moonshadow elf all, er…” he waved expressively at her, contrite. “You know, Full Moon-ish?”

Oh. She eyed him, determined that he wasn’t messing with her, and relaxed a little. “What, not even in the Honour Games?” She asked, after a moment.

“Well, I mean, sometimes. But that’s usually in broad daylight, you know, and from a distance, and broadcasted.” He shrugged, a light dusting of pink rising in his cheeks, like he was embarrassed. “Kind of different to…” he nodded to her via the lightcatcher, smiling sheepishly.

“Suppose it is a tad different to a close-up Sunbeam call,” she conceded, lips twitching.

“I should’ve expected it, really, considering it’s full moon and everything,” he said ruefully. “Sorry, I’m not exactly at my brightest at two in the morning.”

Oh, that was right. It was the middle of the night. She squinted at him. “Then shouldn’t you be sleeping, instead of sunbeaming random Moonshadow elves?”

“Well, you’re up,” he said, as if this was a perfectly logical reason for him to be awake too. “And it’s not like I have to be up early.”

Lucky for him. She thought of the training and the Antiquitora rematch she had scheduled for the day, and suppressed a sigh. It was sometimes truly inconvenient to live in a mixed-race city that didn’t automatically expect the day after Full Moon (and the day of and before New Moon, of course) to be a rest day. “Wish I could say the same.”

He winced sympathetically. “Can you not cancel whatever it is?”

She opened her mouth to say no, stopped, and frowned. She hadn’t yet missed training even once. But…it wasn’t like attending every session was compulsory. And she did train three other times a week…and besides, a Sunday morning short session had never fallen on Full Moon recovery day before. “Probably, honestly,” she admitted. “My – uncle wouldn’t even tell me off for it. Moonshadow elves aren’t supposed to work the day after a Full Moon.”

“Because none of you can get to sleep the whole night?” He asked with interest, as if the cultural habits of her kind were genuinely intriguing to him. “Makes sense, I guess.”

Rayla huffed and shook her head. “Kinda. Mostly it’s because, traditionally, we’re supposed to spend moonrise to moonset with – family, or the community, or whatever. And we’re not much good for anything except collapsing once the Moon’s gone. So we all take the next day off.”

He blinked at her curiously, but if he wondered why she wasn’t currently out spending the Moon with her rightful community, he was tactful enough not to ask. “You should skip your thing, then. Whatever it is,” he determined, after a moment. “Get some actual sleep.”

“Says you,” Rayla said, wry. “You don’t even have a stupid magical reason to be up this late.”

“Does a technomantic game count as a stupid magical reason?” He grinned at her, his smile lopsided and full of humour. Her stomach did a weird flip-flop. “I mean. It is magical.”

Despite herself, she snorted. “And it is stupid,” she allowed, lips twitching. “As far as reasons to be sleep-deprived go, anyway.”

“Worth it,” he claimed, cheerfully. “I don’t have work till the afternoon anyway, so I’m fine.”

Rayla nodded at that, then a moment later actually recalled what his job was, and practically felt her face heating. Thank the Moon – literally – for her skin currently being too dark to show it.

He noticed some sort of reaction, though. Maybe her shoulders had hunched a bit. He tilted his head at her, a little rueful, and said “Yeah, er, about that. I wanted to apologise, for the others talking about it, yesterday? Couldn’t have been super comfortable.”

Abruptly hyper-aware of the weight and presence of her horns, Rayla did her best not to sink into the chair. “…It’s fine,” she muttered, embarrassed. “It’s not like you told them about it, they just guessed.”

“Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t tell them about who my customers were unless my customers said something about it first,” he assured her. “Not really professional, you know? We’re supposed to be confidential about it.” Suddenly, he smiled again. “Then again, it’s not like I usually end up meeting my customers at game night, so that part tends to be easier to manage.”

“Usually?” she asked dryly, ruthlessly suppressing the urge to lift her hands and hide her face behind them.

“No, yeah, you’re definitely the first time that’s happened,” he admitted. “It was kind of a surprise.”

She thought about how she’d reacted to seeing him appear through that door yesterday. “Just a tad.”

“A good one, though!” he claimed, cheerful. “It was nice to meet you properly.”

Rayla was tempted to say something along the lines of you know, where I come from, touching up someone’s horns is considerably more than a ‘proper’ meeting, but that was too mortifying to express, and he probably knew it anyway. She couldn’t imagine anyone becoming an experienced ceracurist without learning all the assorted implications that sort of thing had. “Even though I kicked your Archdragon across the board?” She questioned eventually, when she found her voice again.

“Even though you totally kicked my butt, yeah,” he agreed readily, looking far too pleased about it. “It was a great match. You’re crazy good at that game.”

An involuntary smile pulled at her lips. “Well, Kazi’s better,” she said, pleased despite herself. “They’d have had me easily, if they weren’t playing Ocean.”

He didn’t argue with her. Clearly, he understood the game plenty well enough to know the truth of that. “Still the second-best player I’ve met,” he insisted staunchly. “Is Antiquitora one of the computer games you said you did play? You must’ve put in some serious practice time.”

Rayla snorted. “I wish. No, the only games I ever actually got to play were on a gameship, just the one time, when I was…” she frowned, trying to remember. “Thirteen, maybe? Good long while ago.”

He perked up, expression brightening. “I love gameships,” he enthused. “There’s one that comes by Gullcrest twice a year, and I swear, all the students in the entire engineering department just disappear on board until it leaves. It’s crazy.” After a moment, he admitted “Well, to be fair, I disappear on board too, so, you know. It’s not like I can judge.”

She blinked, and leaned forwards. “What clan is the ship?” She asked, with considerable interest.

“It’s a joint management. Serat-Demani,” he said, watching her knowingly.

“Moon above,” she swore, and he grinned.

“Right?” Looking exceedingly pleased with her reaction, he took that as his cue to go into extensive, exacting detail about the wonders that a fully-stocked, state-of-the-art Demani entertainment airship had to offer. She listened raptly the entire time, interjecting with questions about the rates, the facilities, the games. If it was a Demani ship, it had to have Skycrawler, surely? What was it like? Was the gameplay everything it was said to be?

In the end, Rayla didn’t think she could really be blamed for losing track of time.

Callum was in the middle of enthusiastically praising Scion of Shadow, with particular attention to its unusually enjoyable stealth mechanics, when out of nowhere a yawn cracked through his sentence. He seemed fully ready to keep on talking once it was done, but Rayla sat up a little straighter, and for the first time in a while remembered that it was the middle of the night. She consulted her Moon-sense, and then the clock, and then buried her face in her hands.

He cut off mid-sentence, inquisitive. “What?”

“Callum, it’s nearly four in the morning,” she informed him, lowering her hands to stare at the clock, consumed with a baleful sense of having been betrayed by the passage of time.  “The sun’s probably not even far off rising.”

He blinked, looked to the side, then blinked again. “…Huh,” he observed, a little sheepish. “Yeah, that’s…later than I usually stay up.”

“It’s later than I usually stay up, even on Full Moons.” Technically true, for the ones she’d spent at university. At home, though…moonset was, after all, later than sunrise in summer. Full Moon celebrations usually concluded once everyone’s skin was back to normal, but not always.

Callum shot her a weird look, long and appraising, before he spoke. “You’re still all…Moon-shadowy, though.”

“That won’t stop for a while yet,” she informed him, and shook her head. “I can probably get to sleep by now, anyway. Or another hour off, at most. You…” For a moment, she inspected him, spotting the signs of tiredness in his bearing. “You won’t have that problem, I think. You look knackered.”

He offered a rueful smile. “I’ll probably pass out the second I lay down, yeah,” he admitted. “I kind of lost track of time. Again.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Well, I’ll just go now, then, so you can’t get distracted again.”

Hastily, he sat bolt upright. “But there was something I wanted to-“

“Tomorrow,” she told him, firmly. “Or…today, technically. Later, anyway. Whatever it is can wait.”

He opened his mouth, closed it, then smiled sleepily at her. It looked far more endearing than it had any right to. “Well, okay then.”

Rayla nodded to him, said “Thanks,” then leaned in and shut the call down without a further word. Sunbeam’s active connection died down, Callum’s face disappearing from the screen, and she leaned back in her chair to fix the ceiling with a long-suffering stare.

On one hand, Ethari would’ve probably been delighted to hear she’d spent a couple hours of her Full Moon socialising, as a proper Moonshadow elf ought to. But on the other….Ethari could absolutely never, ever find out about this. If he knew she’d been up chatting with someone, losing track of time, for actual hours…she’d never hear the end of it. To say nothing of how he’d react if he got wind that she – that she might sort of-

“Ugh,” Rayla grumbled to herself, wiping a hand over her face.

She stared at the ceiling for a good long while, experiencing a variety of emotions that she wasn’t keen on thinking about too hard. She also spent a not inconsiderable amount of time thinking about the conversation, running it over in her head, thoughts stubbornly fixed on Callum. This was how she ended up realising that she’d never actually asked about the mage-student-thing, and she still had no idea how that worked.

“Ugh,” she said again, more emphatically, and finally left her chair. She left her room to perform some necessary ablutions in the bathroom she shared with the next room over, then returned to draw the curtains. Without the direct moonlight through her window, the magic in her skin started to stutter a little. In ten minutes or so, she’d be back to normal again…and, with luck, she might be asleep by then.

Begrudgingly, Rayla peeled herself out of her clothes and threw them haphazardly onto the floor, not even bothering to watch the magic desert them, and climbed into bed. A suboptimal amount of time later, she was asleep.

 ---

 “Goodness, you look tired,” said Kazi, welcoming Rayla in. Rayla, for her part, was a little too exhausted to feel particularly awkward, which was nice. “Was the Full Moon particularly trying?”

Rayla’s lips twitched. At least this one knew when Full Moon was. “No more than usual,” she said dryly, bending to remove her shoes when Kazi made noises about it. “Just, you know, getting enough sleep is kind of a lost cause.”

“Oh, I know the feeling. Or at least somewhat,” they commiserated, leading her through to a small and cosy-looking living room lined with bookshelves, and then through to a somewhat larger dining room, whose table was…occupied. Very thoroughly occupied. Rayla tried not to look at it too closely until she had a chance to inspect it properly. “There was a solar flare a few years ago, and of course I and the other Sunfire elves couldn’t sleep for days. It was quite the experience! And I’m sure you know how the Skywing elves get when there’s a particularly powerful storm abound.”

She had, in fact, had occasion to see what Skywing elves looked like when they were storm-drunk. It had been funny, up until it got annoying. “Probably more of a pain for them and you, really, since none of you take anything like moondust,” she volunteered after a moment, mouth turning up with wry sympathy. She’d hate to be a Skywing and be subject to random, unpredictable bouts of their equivalent of being moonstruck. “You all get the full effect of it.”

Kazi looked a little curious at that, but didn’t ask. “Yes, I suppose so. We should be thankful our magical overload is not so consistent as it is for you. In any case-“ they gestured towards the table. “Please take a seat wherever you prefer! Would you like any stimulants?”

Rayla blinked. “…Could you repeat that?”

“Tea,” they clarified, eyes merry with humour. “Or perhaps reveillant, or coffee, by your preference. I have all three, in some measure.”

For a moment she’d wondered if she was being offered something illegal, which…looking at Kazi, she was quite sure had been on purpose. She shook her head, reluctantly amused, and said “I could try some reveillant? I’ve only had it once.”

“It is not especially common, in a Skywing city like this,” Kazi allowed, already heading in the direction of one of the doorways. They kept speaking as they disappeared through it, still perfectly audible to her ears. “But I always keep a supply. It’s the only one that tastes particularly good cold, after all, unless you are very creative with your teas.” There was the sound of a cupboard opening, and then a good bit of rummaging.

During the wait, Rayla cautiously selected a seat at the table and settled there, finally letting her increasingly wide eyes rove over the board set up across it. She was still gawping conspicuously when Kazi returned, brandishing three brown paper packets of what she assumed to be reveillant.

“Do you prefer unflavoured, citrus, or mixed berry varieties?” they inquired mildly, hiding a smile when they saw her inspecting the board.

“Er, berry?” Rayla offered, only half paying attention. She was too busy looking at the intricate detail on the hand-carved and probably hideously valuable Antiquitora board. There were no pieces on it yet, but even just the tiles…it was astonishing. All of the terrain had been dyed and varnished in different colours, with careful attention to the different biomes. It all gleamed. The ocean tiles had even been coated in some kind of resin, making them look wet. The artisan had even mimicked the effect of the edge of an underwater continental shelf seen from above, with an area of lighter ‘water’ closer to the ‘coastline’.

“Berry it is,” Kazi said, sounding quite smug. Rayla didn’t have the chance to see what their face looked like, because they’d already disappeared back into what she assumed was the kitchen. She spent the next five minutes of beverage preparation time inspecting the game board with undisguised admiration. Rayla wasn’t one to usually pay much attention to art, but…this was game related art. It was different.

“The set you brought to the game night wasn’t your one set, then,” Rayla finally commented, when Kazi reappeared. She accepted her cup with exacting care, not wanting to risk a drink spillage near a board like this. She was honestly surprised Kazi allowed drinks so close to this thing.

Kazi smiled, disproportionately small for the amount of self-satisfaction in it. “Yes, it’s my more portable set,” they said pleasantly, and took a seat across the table from her, setting down their own glass. “This one…well, I certainly do not take it out of the house.”

“I can imagine,” she expressed, uncertain whether to be jealous of the board or just plain impressed. She wouldn’t even want something this pricey. She’d constantly be worrying about damaging it somehow. But, even so…the hint of avarice remained. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“The various tile-pieces and figures are quite a sight themselves, I think,” they said, evidently extremely pleased with themself. Rayla wondered how many people they invited round for Antiquitora for the express purpose of showing off this set. “Have you decided your faction for today? Once we have that settled, we can begin setting up.”

Rayla snorted, lips turning up into a half-smirk. “Depends what you’re playing as.”

Kazi beamed back. “Do you have a preference? I am perfectly open to suggestions.”

She considered it. Allegedly, Kazi was most beastly when playing Earth or Sun. Rayla herself was best at Moon and Sky…and Sky was exceptionally poorly matched against Earth. Sun’s best counters were Earth and Ocean. Moon wasn’t great against Sun, but not terrible either. “Take Sun,” she decided, eventually. “I’ll do Moon. I want to see for myself how much you wipe the board with everyone when you get to play properly.”

If Kazi had been smiling before, they looked positively frightening now. Not that their smile had widened, or anything; they just seemed to have a way of looking disconcertingly menacing while beaming pleasantly at you. “I will do my best to arrange that,” they said, and reached for three boxes: Moon, Sun, and the tiles and dice and cards.

Setting up would have gone more quickly if not for Rayla’s interest in inspecting the various gamepieces, and Kazi’s interest in flaunting them. Most of the units, from citizens to mages, were all carved in beautifully varnished wood. The Hero and Archdragon figures, though… “Is that gemstone inlay?” Rayla asked with disbelief, inspecting her Lunar Archdragon and turning it this way and that.

“The Lunar Archdragon has mother-of-pearl inlay, in fact,” Kazi said pleasantly. “And, yes, some very small gemstones for the eyes.”

She shook her head at that, half-impressed, half in disbelief. “Where did you even get this?”

“It’s an heirloom,” they elaborated, which made sense. The only other way for someone to have a set like this would be by being ridiculously rich, or by knowing an insanely skilled craftself. “Hence why it has the standardised continent shape. It does need fairly careful maintenance, though. I paid to have some of the varnishing redone recently, for example. But for me, the joy of owning a set like this is well-worth the upkeep.”

Rayla nodded. It wasn’t her sort of thing, personally, but she understood well enough. “I bet you try to get people over to play you every chance you get,” she said, amused. “With a board like this…”

“It would be quite a shame otherwise, yes,” they agreed. “I must thank you for obliging me! This board so rarely sees a high-level game.”

She huffed, amused, and kept unpacking the gamepieces one-by-one. Kazi had to know that they were the better player. If she’d barely beaten them when they were playing Ocean and underestimating her for most of the game, she certainly wasn’t going to win now. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Eventually, when everything was set up, they rolled the starting conditions and began playing. Kazi very obviously knew what they were doing with the primary advantages of the Sun faction – agriculture, population, and military might – but Rayla was perfectly well acquainted with a proper Moon playstyle as well. She leaned into the espionage and intrigue skillset as heavily as she could manage, wreaking political strife in Kazi’s territory wherever she found an opening. When Kazi could find them, her units died; but that certainly wasn’t always.

Even so, the outcome was something of a foregone conclusion. The game lasted a while, because Rayla knew that her main defence against the Sun armies was if they couldn’t find the Moon cities, and planned accordingly…but Rayla hadn’t succeeded in assassinating the Archdragon, and hadn’t managed to get the Sun citizenry to demand a leadership duel either. So, unsurprisingly, Kazi eventually managed to field an assault that broke through the illusory barriers protecting Rayla’s stronghold, striking at her Archdragon precisely on the turn before New Moon. It died of its injuries the turn later.

Rayla considered the board carefully after that. Her best chances of winning against Sun would be crop poisoning, Archdragon assassinating, leadership disputes, or revolution. She’d managed the first and had been making decent headway on the latter two, but, in the end…it wasn’t close enough. She smiled ruefully, and said “Moon concedes.”

They nodded, having expected that, and smiled beatifically. “It was a marvellous game,” they said warmly, already reaching over to begin clearing the pieces. “Thank you very much for it.”

“I don’t know, it was a pretty solid victory for you.” Her voice was dry as she reached out to help, handling each of the intricately-carved figures with care. “You’re obviously the better player, here.”

“Yes,” they agreed, neither modestly nor boastfully, simply as the fact it was. “But nonetheless, you are certainly the best player I’ve encountered in-person in a very long time. Certainly the only one I didn’t arrange to meet with beforehand. It was a good game, no matter that you lost it.”

Rayla dipped her head, smiling a little. It wasn’t like she enjoyed losing…but she’d appreciated the challenge enough to make up for it. She’d ceased finding any sort of challenge back home a long, long time ago. “Yeah, it wasn’t bad.”

Kazi reached for another piece, paused, then eyed her consideringly. “Would you…like to discuss it?” they asked, tilting their head, watching her.

She glanced up, surprised. It was hardly an unfamiliar concept. She’d watched enough matches broadcast on Sunbeam to know how it went; when two top-tier players concluded a match, they talked about it afterwards. They discussed each other’s plays and strategies, pointed out mistakes, considered where there was room for improvement…

The only after-game discussions she’d ever had had been at Runaan’s knee, when she was still small and didn’t know the game nearly as well. It was weirdly flattering to be invited to do it now.

“…Yeah,” Rayla said, eventually, and sat back down. “I’d like that.”

Kazi beamed like the Sun they’d just used to trounce her. “Very good.”

The next half hour involved more talking than Rayla thought she’d done at a time in months…or, well, she would’ve said so, if not for last night. It was certainly a good second-place contender though, and by the end her voice was feeling a little tired from overuse. They concluded the discussion, packed away the gamepieces and board, and then were done.

“But of course, you must stay for another drink,” Kazi said, and whisked her empty glass of reveillant away. “You liked the berry infusion, yes? Excellent, I will get you another.” Good to their word, they did precisely that, and returned in short order.

Rayla did feel a little more awake, on that second glass of the reveillant. It was effective stuff; as much or more so than coffee, with (in her opinion) a considerably better taste. She was debating the merits of asking Kazi where they got it when they spoke up first.

“You’ll be returning, I hope?” they said, and it took Rayla a moment to think of what they meant.

“….Here?” she guessed. “For a rematch?”

“Well, yes, naturally.” Kazi pushed their glasses up, smiling a little. “I had assumed as much. But, no, I was referring to the game society. You’d be an excellent fit, I think.”

Rayla blinked. “Oh.” She thought of the previous night, and hunched down a little in embarrassment.

“I know it was only a very small group when you visited, but I have the impression you prefer that, anyway,” they said, neatly demonstrating that they were as unnervingly good at reading her as she’d sort of inferred. “It can get rowdier in term time – at least at the official meetings. The meet-ups at our houses are much calmer – usually just the core group.”

“Which is?” Rayla asked, a little reserved now, if only to disguise the fact that she really didn’t need convincing. She might have, after just the Friday. But after this…after yesterday…

“Myself, Callum, Nihatasi. Usually Pava, but often he spends the whole time tinkering instead of playing.” They shook their head, amused. “In term time – well, usually I’d say to expect Evairas, but he is spectacularly busy these days, so perhaps not.”

“…They sent messages,” she commented, after a moment. “Callum and Nihatasi, I mean. Pava didn’t.”

“Pava tends to forget Sunbeam exists for weeks at a time, don’t mind him,” Kazi assured her. “Nihatasi and Callum though, I’m not at all surprised. Nihatasi adores new people, and Callum…” they eyed her, just a little speculatively. “Well, I think you impressed him. Has he invited you to Tuesday, yet?”

Rayla blinked with consternation. “Invited me to what on Tuesday?”

“Game meeting, at the house,” they clarified. “It’s hardly an official thing, but it’s often Callum’s house that has everyone over. He hasn’t invited you over, yet? Well, he will. I am quite sure of it.”

For a long moment, she looked into her glass and the dark red liquid therein, pondering it as if it held all the answers for how she was supposed to respond. “If you say so,” she said, finally, and lifted her glass to drink.

“I do,” Kazi claimed serenely, and gracefully changed the topic to (naturally) more about Antiquitora. By the time Rayla finished her drink, she’d learned that Kazi played broadcast games online fairly regularly, under a handle that she recognised; she’d watched a good few of their games before.

“Is there a story behind that skein-name?” she asked, undeniably curious now that she was acquainted with the elf behind it. “’Finguistician’.”

Kazi laughed, like she’d surprised them. “Oh, that,” they said, mirthfully. “It’s something of an in-joke. You see, I have my doctorate in Linguistics – specifically, in non-verbal linguistics. Various sign languages, Draconic Corpus, and so on. I made a joke once, when I was still an undergraduate in a sign-language module, that the course should be called finguistics, given, well,” they waggled their fingers at her.

She snorted, amused. “Did it catch on?”

“Sadly, no. But I do call my sign language classes for the public ‘finguistics’, and no one can stop me, because I am the teacher.” They giggled a little to themself. “Perhaps in time it will become a more widely-used term. I would like that; it would be very amusing. In any case, that is where the handle comes from.”

Rayla thought, for a moment, about a moment from the game night: Kazi and Callum had used some sort of sign language with each other for a second, hadn’t they? She considered asking about it, wondering what his background in that was. Did he take any of Kazi’s lessons, or had he learned some other way?

In the end, she bit her tongue and said nothing. After a little more idle conversation, she eventually made her leave, farewelled at the door by her cheerful host. Without the game to bolster her, she swiftly began to really feel her exhaustion. Stimulants or not, she was so tired that a headache was starting to pound luridly behind her eyes, almost enough to make them water.

She headed home intending to collapse back into bed and nap – if the lingering effects of the drinks allowed her to, anyway. Which was why she was considerably displeased to arrive back to find her wing busy and full of noise and various elves milling about. The halls were crowded. She was about to say “What the fuck”, or perhaps “Shut up, do you know how bad my headache is right now”, but before she had the chance one of the closest elves (some wingmate she didn’t know the name of) spotted her and shouted down the hall “It’s her, she’s here, she’s not dead!”

All eyes went to her, and an immediate chattering started up. Rayla stared, utterly nonplussed, fighting the urge to pull on the Moon and take advantage of a state of near-invisibility to just retreat to her nice, privacy-sealed bedroom. The noise cancellation ought to take care of this racket.

After a few seconds, a face she actually had a name for pushed forwards. It was Stavian, a Skywing elf from her bellatorium, still in armour from training. “Rayla,” he said, sounding very relieved. “Thank goodness, we were about to call for an official search!”

Rayla had no idea what was happening. “What in Xadia’s name is going on here?” she demanded, finally, and her irate tone seemed to remind him that he (for some reason) customarily seemed to be quite intimidated by her. He shrank back a little, and as he did, a few of the rest of the Honour Games team started to appear.

“You didn’t show up for training!” he said, defensively. “And from anyone else that wouldn’t be much of a big deal, but you’ve never missed a day before. And then when we went to check on you afterwards you weren’t here.”

“And none of your wingmates knew where you were,” added one of her teammates: Fiera, a particularly tiny Skywing mage with hair and feathers dyed a distinctive lilac colour.

Rayla stared for a few more seconds, then wiped a hand over her face. “It was Full Moon,” she said, very slowly, her patience already somewhere on level with the floor. “I didn’t get to sleep till around five; of course I wasn’t going to go to morning training.” She ignored the fact that, if not for Callum, she absolutely would have. He’d been right; it was completely reasonable to miss training on a Full Moon rest day, and if they had a problem with that they could bite her.

The vast collective of people assembled in the halls all looked very embarrassed, suddenly. And honestly, they should be. Moonshadow elves were definitely uncommon in Gullcrest, but surely someone should have known it was Full Moon, and made the obvious conclusions. “Oh,” said Fiera, weakly. Her wings drooped a little. “That…makes sense.”

Now looking very abashed, Stavian echoed “Oh.” The crowd of assorted wingmates and guests, probably attracted by the initial hubbub, started to grumble and dissipate.

Rayla sighed, and rubbed at her eyes, attempting to scrounge some sort of positive emotion from beneath her absolute crankiness at being confronted with a noisy group of people when she was this sleep-deprived. “Look,” she attempted, tiredly, “It’s…nice you were worried. I didn’t realise anyone would be looking for me.” She searched for something appropriate to say. “I’ll…put a note on my door, if something like this comes up again?”

Her teammates, four of whom had shown up, nodded contritely. “Sorry for bothering you on a rest day,” offered another of them, starting to shove the others towards the door. “We’ll see you for training tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, I’ll be there,” Rayla looked longingly down the hallway, where her bed awaited. “I don’t exactly make a habit of missing training, you know.”

“Yeah, you’re very – dedicated,” Fiera said, in the tones of someone trying to be diplomatic, still being ushered doorwards. “Have a good rest day!” she called, right before the rest of them filed out and the wing became something approaching quiet again.

Too tired and too grumpy to have much emotional response to the whole thing, Rayla turned and headed down her hallway without a further word. The wing was still bustling, and it was more of a relief than usual to close her door on it; the privacy runes hummed lethargically as they activated, but the noise level outside cut off sharply enough that for once she didn’t mind their quality too much. They mostly did their job, and that was all she really needed.

It turned out that the effect of the reveillant couldn’t really complete with post-Full-Moon sleep deprivation; Rayla crawled into bed and fell asleep more or less instantly.

She woke some hours later, stirring at the sound of some computer module or other humming as it reactivated from idling. It wasn’t loud by any means, but she was quite sensitive to new or changing sounds in her vicinity, so it was enough. She blinked her eyes open, rubbing grit from their edges, and stumbled out of bed with a glance at the clock along the way. Moon-sense said it was late afternoon; the clock was a bit more specific about it, and said 6.33pm. The sky outside was still blue and light, but in that summer-evening way, where the sun had fallen low enough to cast long shadows between the city buildings. It was still bright enough to make her tired to look at.

There were new messages on her Sunbeam.

Rayla dropped into her desk chair and eyed the icon tiredly, uncertain if she was awake or rested enough to deal with any further social contact today. In the end she decided there probably wasn’t any harm in checking them, so…she looked. Kazi had thanked her for the game, and sent her some sort of invitation to make an account on…what looked to be the skeinsite that hosted the high-level Antiquitora broadcasts. She wasn’t sure what the purpose of that was, and didn’t have her head on sufficiently to figure it out, so she left it for later. Ethari had asked how her Full Moon had been. And…

She sighed, not sure whether to be pleased or embarrassed, because: Callum had left messages, too. Fairly recently, actually.

They read Hope you got to sleep okay, and how are you feeling? There was no mention of whatever he’d supposedly wanted to mention before the call ended, so he’d probably forgotten, or…something.

She debated whether or not to reply now. She found she was a little wary of…something. She wasn’t quite sure what. Making a fool of herself, maybe? She’d already spent nearly two very late-night hours sunbeaming him, and…that was already…well.

In the end, Rayla spent about five minutes trying to wrestle some semblance of reason past her sleep-mired brain, finally concluding that she was probably unlikely to come across as an infatuated idiot by responding to a couple of messages. Then, slowly, she picked at the keys to write back: Kind of knackered, but okay. While that one was processing, she hesitantly sent another: Just woke up from a nap. I think it helped?

She left the computer to visit the bathroom, tidying up her hair and washing her face with cold water. It did little to make her feel more alert, or to remove the weird muggy haze of exhaustion from her head, but it was better than nothing. She contemplated getting something to eat, but knew she wasn’t going to be up to cooking tonight. She went for one of her bottles of emergency moonberry elixir instead, which were so full of nutrients they probably counted as some kind of soup.

That in hand, she returned to her computer….and, somehow, wasn’t surprised to find that Callum had already replied. Was he just constantly glued to his computer, or what?

Well, at least it’s apparently traditional to be tired after full moon, I guess? He’d written, light-heartedly. At least you got a nap! Although it’s kind of late. Won’t you have trouble getting to sleep later?

Rayla shuffled forwards in her chair to respond. Nah. There’s a neat trick you can use to get to sleep at night if you’re a Moonshadow elf, and if it’s not Full Moon. Just need to shine a bright light in my face and I’ll be good. She hadn’t had to use it in a while, but she knew where the thing was: on her windowsill, to soak up sunlight during the day. It’d do the job just fine.

The pause in response seemed to be longer than connection lag would account for. That’s so weird, and cool, he marvelled, eventually. I just looked it up. They call them sun lamps?

Yep. Flash of sunlight in a dark place gets us sleepy pretty much every time. Moonshadow elves tended to be mostly diurnal by practice, but naturally, they all had the wiring for a nocturnal lifestyle. Bright sunlight in the eyes after being in the dark would usually trigger tiredness, even in elves perfectly used to going about in the daytime. Sun lamps were extraordinarily simple as far as enchanted objects went, but extraordinarily useful for Moonshadow elves with weird schedules.

What about if someone turns a light on in a dark room? He asked, apparently fascinated.

Nah. Has to be sunlight. It’s pretty specific.

That’s so cool, he reiterated, from that bizarre well of enthusiasm he seemed to have for banal magical elements of everyday life. Rayla waited to see if he’d write anything more, and after a moment, realised she’d started smiling. She wasn’t sure when that had happened. Eventually, he did send something else: I’d ask if you wanted to call again, but you should probably, you know, be getting actual sleep.

What Rayla intended to write then was something along the lines of, ‘yes, you’re entirely correct, I need to sleep for like twelve hours if I’m not going to be a useless wreck for training tomorrow’.

Instead, what she ending up sending was keep it half an hour or less, and you’re probably fine.

I’ll set a timer :) he typed, complete with smiley, which was something she’d never actually encountered outside of the mageskein before. And then he called her.

“How’s the light level?” she asked him, when the call resolved. It wasn’t yet far into sunset, so she thought there ought to be sufficient lighting in her room to see by, but who really knew with humans. She certainly didn’t know how bad their eyes were.

In his own room, Callum was bathed in the warm glow of the light through his windows, shaded the same pink-orange that she was. He was smiling, even as he pretended to squint exaggeratedly at her room. “Yeah, I can just about see,” he said, obviously teasing. “It’s not dark yet.” A pause, and he took a moment to look her over a little more directly. He was a little more concerned when he added “Are you sure it’s okay to be calling? You really do look tired.”

“I think I’ll survive half an hour, Callum,” she told him wryly, and one corner of his lips twitched upwards.

“Yeah, fair enough.” He hesitated for a moment, like he was summoning his nerve for something. “Listen – I wanted to ask before, yesterday, but – there’s going to be a sort of casual gaming night? At my house? On Tuesday. The others will be there. And my housemates, er, obviously.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry if it’s short notice, but – do you want to come?”

Rayla stared at him, half bemused by the offer itself, half at his apparent nervousness. “Kazi said you were going to invite me,” she said, a little too nonplussed to offer any more intelligent response. “I guess they were right.”

He blinked. “You’ve been talking to Kazi?” A pause. “No, wait, what am I saying, of course you’ve been talking to Kazi. There’s no way they’d let someone who beat them at Antiquitora get away.”

“We had a rematch today, actually,” Rayla admitted, lips twitching. “I let them take Sun. Naturally they destroyed me.”

“Ow,” Callum said, with feeling. “I’ve been on the receiving end of Kazi playing Sun before. It’s…” he searched for the words. “Really something.”

She smiled, remembering it. With a few hours separating her from the game, she realised she’d enjoyed the experience more than she’d anticipated. The discussion in particular had been welcome. “I’m just glad to be able to play someone new, honestly,” she confided. “Though it’d be nice to do it again when I’ve actually slept.” A second later, she remembered he’d had an almost equally dubious bedtime, and inspected him critically. He looked surprisingly okay, actually. A little tired, but not like he’d been up most of the night. “Did you sleep in late, or what?” She asked then, a little amused. “You don’t actually look tired.”

He laughed sheepishly. “Yeah, I didn’t wake up till around lunchtime,” he admitted. “I had to go to work after that, though.”

Rayla paused, still very unsure of how to respond to mentions of his work. “And…was that okay?” She asked at last, uncertainly.

“Yeah, actually. I had a pattern etching appointment, and those are some of my favourites,” he said, brightening. “This one wanted one of my new designs, too. It turned out great!”

She’d seen something about that on the posters in the waiting room, she thought. “That’d be the…buzzing patterns into the horns?” She asked, faintly.

“Mmhm. I use sort of a really small thin version of an electric buffer, and work the etching in that way,” he agreed. “I draw the design on first and follow the lines, and then after you can either just polish it up and leave it, or like, fill with metal or something. It takes a while, but, you know, that’s kind of just how art works.” He shrugged. “It looks great, anyway.”

Rayla thought of her looming appointment, maybe a week or so away, and found she was entirely unprepared for thinking about that. “You…seem to kind of do the art thing a lot?” she hazarded, as a distraction, nodding to the nearest easel. “Painting?”

He turned to look, then grinned back at her. “Yeah! I mean, art is…well, I probably draw more than I game, and that’s really saying something. I do all sorts, kinda. I’ll have to show you some of my sketchbooks sometime.” That seemed to remind him of the question she still hadn’t answered, and he abruptly looked nervous again. “So. Er. Um. About Tuesday…?”

She tried, very hard, to keep an even expression. “Er,” she managed, and then finally: “…Yeah. Sounds good? I’ll…be there.” Wherever ‘there’ was. She did have the address written down, but hadn’t actually tried to figure out where it was in the city yet.

Callum straightened up, brightening. “Really? That’s great!” A second later, he amended “It’ll be really nice to have someone new over! We’ll have food and stuff, too.”

She paused at that. “Should I bring anything?” Hospitality expectations tended to be very different depending on culture, so it merited the question.

“Nah. Well, if you want, you can bring snacks or food, but you don’t need to. We have loads.” A second later, he added ruefully “Kassa has some…pretty strong opinions about how fully-stocked a kitchen should be.”

“That’s one of your housemates?” she remembered.

“Yeah! Actually, I lived with Kassa and her mom for a few years before. They sort of hosted me, when I was…well, when I first came to Gullcrest.” He amended his sentence half-way through, as if realising he was about to say too much. She was intensely curious about that. “This house is her family property, too, so we don’t have to pay much on it. We moved in when Kassa started her undergrad.”

She blinked, filing that information away. This had something to do with the mystery of him doing a mage’s masters at the age of eighteen, she was sure of it, but… “What about your other housemates?”

“Nihatasi moved in because we had room and she was a friend,” he said, matter-of-factly. “Soren…” he hesitated. “Well, he’s a childhood friend of mine,” he settled on eventually. “So he came to study here, and he took the last spare room.”

Rayla eyed him, but didn’t question him on the obvious secrets clamouring behind his words. “Looks a lot roomier than usual student wings, at least,” she commented finally. “These rooms are pretty cramped. And the runework is pretty worn-down. My door makes this horrible droning noise every time the wards come on.”

He made an ‘oof’ sound. “I’ve visited student wings before. They’re…well, they’re okay. Definitely prefer this house though.” He eyed her curiously. “Is yours at least one of the ones where you get one bathroom between two people? Because I knew someone who only had one bathroom for twelve, and it was terrible.”

“That sounds disgusting,” she said, making a face. She could hardly imagine how terrible that would be, with how some of her wingmates were. “I’m so glad that’s not me.”

“So glad,” he agreed, and before she knew it, they were off on a weirdly engrossing conversation about the merits of student living compared to home life. He was pretty evasive about it, but she got the impression he’d been used to a fairly fancy home before he came to Gullcrest, and he’d been astonished at what student wings were like.

Rayla was in the middle of describing how chaotic move-in day had been, with so many elves hauling all their boxes of things in at once, when a shrill ringing started up from over Callum’s voicecatcher. He reached hastily to the side and disabled some sort of egg timer that had gone off, settling back into view with a sheepish smile.

“That was the timer,” he said, apologetically.

Half an hour, already. It was a little disconcerting how quickly it’d gone by. “I’d better try to turn in for an early night, then,” she offered, weirdly reluctant to hang up.

He hesitated a fair bit, too. “Probably a good idea,” he agreed, wry. “We can talk again later?” His tone went questioning, at that. A little hopeful.

Rayla resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands. “…Yeah, sure,” she sighed, more and more exasperated with herself for just how much she wanted to talk to him.

Callum smiled again, the edges of him lit up from the light of the falling sun. “Later, then,” he said, and hesitated once again. Then he reached out, and the call disconnected. Sunbeam minimised to its idling overlay around the edges of her screen, the background of Silvergrove scenery back to the fore.

She sighed, and leaned back in her chair. Ruefully, she spend a while reflecting on exactly how in trouble she was. Then she did as a responsible elf on their Full Moon rest day ought, and went to attempt an early night.

She managed it almost as soon as it was dark enough for her magic rune-rock to work. Thank Xadia for sun lamps, honestly.

  ---

End chapter.

Yeah so this is basically completely unbetaed, even by me, because I’ve been frantically trying to churn out a complete chapter this week in time for the Modern AU day of rayllum month. There will be typos, there will be clunky sentences, that’s just what you get for a rush job. I’ll return to it and do some editing in the morning.

Re: the Antiquitora. ‘Would you like to discuss the game’ *hikago fandom origins vibes intensify*

  Worldbuilding notes for this chapter:

Moondances: specific ritual dances made to react with the runic Circles that Moonshadow elves use. The dancing is used as a form of spellcraft, to cast enchantments or strengthen the magic of a community. The Full Moon dances in Silvergrove for example are integral for keeping its magical defences running. (piaj)

EX and WX: East Xadian and West Xadia. A more modern and correct term for the human and elf/dragon sides of the continent, respectively.

Artefact magic: primal magic cast with a power source other than your own arcanum. E.g. a primal stone, a moon opal.

Thaumaturgy: the practice of magic casting.

Thaumatology: the study of magic.

Lightcatcher: magic camera, basically.

Voicecatcher: magic microphone, basically.

Honour Games: a fun sport :) more on this later.

Technomancy/technomantic: alternate proper term for magical engineering.

Antiquitora notes: while the game has been steadily gaining complexity over time, the game at its fundamentals is very old, and quite traditional. It’s considered a respectable strategy game, and Runaan certainly would have approved of Rayla showing an interest in it when she was younger. Modern variants tend to adopt features and ‘house rules’ that don’t strictly conform to traditional standards, though.

East Xadian computer games: though boasting dramatically better visuals and audio than human technology is currently capable of, the limitations of elven computing mean that computer games are extremely expensive, and difficult to integrate into lesser systems. Most elves will never be able to run the best gaming modules at home.

Nomad Gameships: Brevili nomads are well known for their magical engineering, and produce some of the most advanced technomantic games there are. Owing to the limited number of elves who can actually afford to buy them, they get creative with the marketing: many clans field airships whose sole purpose is travelling around as a sort of mobile arcade, landing at various destinations for a set amount of time, during which customers can pay for access to the many assorted games they have on offer. Demani, as the clan that (a good long while ago) invented the airship in the first place, boasts the most impressive facilities on their ships.

Skycrawler: a game so advanced and finicky that its developers haven’t yet figured out how to get it to run on less advanced systems than the gameships’ computers. There are a handful like these, usually the newest and most technomantically complex titles, and their release on gameships usually serves as something of a ‘beta’ build while they refine the technology for more accessible use. Imunaviga was one of these, and was very recently released for public purchase.

Imunaviga: as several commenters guessed, this is indeed a Subnautica expy. Rayla is not at all keen on the idea of playing it. I spent probably too much time working out the worldbuilding and plot for the elf AU version of this game. It was a lot of fun though.

Scion of Shadow: a well-regarded game with a Moonshadow elf protagonist, involving a lot of stealth gameplay, a highly-lauded storyline, and in-setting ‘fantasy’ elements; i.e. they’d be considered fantasy in this fantasy setting.

Magical overload states: Natural events that cause high levels of ambient primal magic can induce some very unusual effects in beings with the relevant arcana. Terms include ‘moonstruck’ for Moonshadow elves, ‘sunstruck’ for Sunfire, and ‘storm-drunk’ for Skywing. (piaj)

Moondust: a magic-dampening drug taken in different dosages based on the phase of the moon, to dampen the effect of the lunar cycle on Moonshadow elves’ bodies and minds. Not all Moonshadow elves take it, but most do. (piaj)

Reveillant: Sunfire elf beverage made from the dried berries of a shrub with stimulant properties. Some preparations are very strong and are restricted, but preparations from the berries are mild and very popular. (piaj)

Draconic Corpus: a sort of full-body sign language spoken by dragons incapable of complex vocal speech. Given this accounts for the majority of dragons, it’s generally useful to understand some of, even if bipeds are generally incapable of speaking it properly. (piaj)

[ansu-gurleht]

sermon 35 annotated: the scripture of love

before i begin, it’s important to note that this is probably the trickiest sermon in the whole bunch to interpret. i’ve spent months mulling this one over, and there’s still stuff i don’t understand. so if you disagree with me on any of this, great! i’d love to hear what you have to say! but here’s my best guess:

- - -

'The formulas of proper Velothi magic continue in ancient tradition, but that virility is dead, by which I mean at least replaced.'

the ways of the velothi remain the same in practice, but the “virility,” the purpose and driving force, has shifted from the good daedra to the tribunal.

'Truth owes its medicinal nature to the establishment of the myth of justice.'

justice means getting down to the truth. to know the truth means to know justice. but vivec says justice is a myth. although, ze could be using “myth” in its other sense, not so much as “a falsehood” but “a tradition.” a tradition still need not be necessarily based in fact, but it’s still an extant thing which holds sway over culture.

'Its curative properties it likewise owes to the concept of sacrifice.'

for something to be true, that means many other things must not be true. many possible truths are sacrificed for one single truth. (likewise, for justice to run its course, it is sometimes necessary that the guilty go free and the innocent are punished.)

'Princes, chiefs, and angels all subscribe to the same notion.'

all three of these offices are of authority, which are responsible for establishing justice, which here is associated with truth and sacrifice. (also, “princes” are daedric princes, “chiefs” are aedra, and “angels” are magna-ge.)

'This is a view primarily based on a prolific abolition of an implied profanity, seen in ceremonies, knife fighting, hunting, and the exploration of the poetic.'

vivec says that the idea of “truth = justice + sacrifice” is based on getting rid of the things you assume are taboo (“implied profanity”). this means exploring the taboo and redefining it. 

'On the ritual of occasions, which comes to us from the days of the cave glow, I can say nothing more than to loosen your equation of moods to lunar currency.'

the first part might be some kind of reference to plato's allegory of the cave - perhaps equating the dawn era to the cave. "loosen your equation of moods to lunar currency" might mean "don't be afraid to turn towards lorkhan” - see: the lunar lorkhan theory (bear in mind, it IS just a theory in-universe, not a given fact)

'Later, and by that I mean much, much later, my reign will be seen as an act of the highest love, which is a return from the astral destiny and the marriages between.'

despite the many crimes of vivec, ze believes that ultimately hir impact on hir people and the world will be overwhelmingly positive. “the astral destiny” is what vivec believes is hir rightful, fated rule.

'By that I mean the catastrophes, which will come from all five corners.'

“the catastrophes” refer to the “the marriages between” of the last line. note that ze refers to hir sexual assault as a “marriage.” 

what are the five corners? the house of troubles has four. the provisional house has four. is this referring to the house of troubles plus tiber septim? it fits best, i think.

'Subsequent are the revisions, differentiated between hope and the distraught, situations that are only required by the periodic death of the immutable.'

history has been, and (according to vivec) must be rewritten on multiple occasions, either out of hope of bettering the people, or to shield them from ugliness. if history is immutable, unchangeable, then rewriting history every now and then is the “periodic death of the immutable.”

'Cosmic time is repeated: I wrote of this in an earlier life.'

if i were more into the concept of cyclic kalpas, this would be a wonderful reference. otherwise, this could refer to a belief vivec had in hir “earlier life” as a mortal, wherein the same (usually traumatic) events happen over and over again. this could apply more generally to certain events recurring, such as the catastrophes mentioned above.

'An imitation of submersion is love's premonition, its folly into the underworld, by which I mean the day you will read about outside of yourself in an age of gold.'

love causes a feeling of being submerged, but it’s only an imitation, a folly. someday, in a better time, you will discover it was always external to you. once you no longer need love, you will understand “its folly into the underworld”

'For on that day, which is a shadow of the sacrificial concept, all history is obliged to see me for what you are: in love with evil.'

“concept of sacrifice,” part of what makes truth healing, is again referenced. but the better time is the “shadow” of that concept, meaning on some level the concept is null, or no longer necessary. 

who is vivec addressing? hirself? “in love with evil?” is this guilt? vivec knows that the sacrifices ze made are no longer necessary, and the reversal in “see me for what you are” might imply that ze sees hirself as the final sacrifice - very messianic.

'To keep one's powers intact at such a stage is to allow for the existence of what can only be called a continual spirit.'

seems to be a reference to CHIM and zero-summing. in order to achieve CHIM at the stage whereupon you see the wheel sideways is to keep existing as you are, not to join with the tower and zero-sum. (this seems like a nonsequitur following the lines before. maybe those lines hint at this one more than i suspect?)

'Make of your love a defense against the horizon.'

horizon = the world, the unknown world beyond your body and mind. by loving others, you expand your body and mind, thereby expanding your horizon.

'Pure existence is only granted to the holy, which comes in a myriad of forms, half of them frightening and the other half divided into equal parts purposeless and assured.'

on some level, mortal existence is sullied. only immortals, divines, daedra and aedra, can have a pure existence, although it takes many forms, as many as there are spheres of dominion. the daedra are “frightening” and the aedra are “purposeless and assured”

'Late is the lover that comes to this by any other walking way than the fifth, which is the number of the limit of this world.'

confusing. what makes the lover “late?” isn’t the fifth walking way love? how is five “the number of the limit of this world?” is this world vivec's world, limited by the "five corners" mentioned earlier? or does the sixth walking way go beyond the limit of the world?

'The lover is the highest country and a series of beliefs.'

the lover is both of powerful physical (political) power, as well as philosophical power.

'He is the sacred city bereft of a double.'

the hortator has a double in the sharmat. but vivec, the lover, has no double, no equal.

'The uncultivated land of monsters is the rule.'

“uncultivated land of monsters” could refer to morrowind, as it is well known for being a dangerous and unforgiving place. but “monsters” could also refer to the “children” vivec has been hunting in the past several sermons.

'This is clearly attested by ANU and his double, which love knows never really happened.'

anu’s double is padhome. anu happened b/c he said he happened. padhome never claimed to happen, which makes him anu’s double, his opposite. he is defined only by how he is distinct from anu.

'Similarly, all the other symbols of absolute reality are ancient ideas ready for their graves, or at least the essence of such.'

reality is relative, not absolute. absolutist ideas are “ancient ideas ready for their graves,” outdated philosophies. symbols cannot represent absolute reality: they are merely signposts pointing towards it.

'This scripture is directly ordered by the codes of Mephala, the origin of sex and murder, defeated only by those who take up those ideas without my intervention.'

not sure what ze’s trying to say here. could be saying, "i become the lover through mephala. only the lover who becomes such of their own power can defeat me," with an implied, "no lover can do this, so no lover can defeat me."

'The religious elite is not a tendency or a correlation.'

to become “the religious elite” is not something you happen into, it’s something you strive to become. this line seems to clarify the previous.

'They are dogma complemented by the influence of the untrustworthy sea and the governance of the stars, dominated at the center by the sword, which is nothing without a victim to cleave unto.'

sea = seht, stars = ayem, sword = vehk. the sea and stars exist on their own, but a sword requires a victim - just as a lover requires a beloved.

'This is the love of God and he would show you more: predatory but at the same time instrumental to the will of critical harvest, a scenario by which one becomes as he is, of male and female, the magic hermaphrodite.'

“God” needs a victim "to cleave unto", but it’s ultimately very important that ze does so, in order to become what ze’s meant to be. also, "to cleave" is to make one into two, and vehk seeks to reconcile two parts into one - mortal and immortal, chimer and dunmer, male and female. this dichotomy of opposites is important. ze cleaves them apart and then cleaves them together, over and over.

'Mark the norms of violence and it barely registers, suspended as it is by treaties written between the original spirits.'

original spirits = et’ada. if you go about violence in the way prescribed by them, you will achieve little if anything. it's all like games played between gods.

'This should be seen as an opportunity, and in no way tedious, though some will give up for it is easier to kiss the lover than become one.'

but vivec seems to claim that these little victories within ancient boundaries can be useful. the lover seems to live within these boundaries, so as to show others how to escape them. but to take such a position is very difficult, much more so than simply accepting the lover’s assistance.

'The lower regions crawl with these souls, caves of shallow treasures, meeting in places to testify by way of extension, when love is only satisfied by a considerable (incalculable) effort.'

there’s some obvious innuendo here, but i won’t dwell on it. but this line really sums up what i think the walking way of love is. it’s creating a network of “lovers” who (through incalculable effort) help bring all of the souls it can into its breast (‘testify by way of extension’), so as to expand the network as well as help those it can to achieve something greater.

[wyrd-weaver]

𝔉𝔲𝔩𝔩 𝔐𝔬𝔬𝔫 𝔊𝔞𝔷𝔦𝔫𝔤

Word Count: 1078

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

Loki crept into the gelid embrace of the night, as a peaceful slumber descended upon Asgard. With its guards and warriors none-the-wiser, now seemed the opportune moment. The Trickster forwent his disguise, loathing the very appearance of his father reflecting in the puddles underfoot. A sigh passed his lips - the people remained ignorant, despite his continued deception.

But...by the Norns was it tiring. Even a man with such magical prowess as he deserved respite, once in a Full Moon. Which, incidentally, it was. Loki gazed skyward, to the stars twinkling on their dark canvas. It was truly a sight to behold; Asgard's splendour, its golden buildings, the Bifrost...Midgard simply paled in comparison. This was where he belonged, where he was always destined to rule. He only wished that there was no need for mendacity. He envisioned himself on the throne, his emerald coattails draped across the arm. Odin had forfeit this place, left it in Loki's possession.

There would be no wars, no strife.

Instead...theatre, divination and intellectual pursuits would replace them.

But this wasn't the hour for such planning. No...this hour was reserved for star-gazing, and for seeking answers from the beauteous Moon. Answers sung as lullabies, or formed of the stars. Could he ever drop the illusion...ever rule as himself? Would someone be willing to stand beside him, as Queen or mere consort? He had never cared much for that question, but risks and manifestations were staples of the Full Moon. Here, in these gardens, his dreams could be weaved...subconscious desires realised. Here, all alone...

"...What?" A figure sat among the flowers, eyes fixed on the Moon.

Loki briefly wondered about changing form, until you spoke, never turning to ignore the enchantress above. "Do you not oftentimes find her smiling down upon you?"

The Trickster God was taken aback by your gentle, adoring voice. "Not many would smile upon me."

"Prince Loki, Son of Odin and Frigga?" You asked, although there was little surprise in your tone.

Loki smiled. "The very same. Might I ask your name, my dear?"

"Proceed with the endearments, for I have no name of my own." A wistful sigh parted your lips.

"Whyever not?" Loki crossed the distance, to your perch.

You welcomed him courteously, without a glance. "I cannot be certain."

He nodded in false understanding. "Then...would '(Y/n)' be a suitable fit?"

Your eyes tore from the Moon, to hold captive his own. "...(Y/n). It sounds...familiar."

"Then perhaps you simply forgot." He suggested, losing himself in your majesty.

You must have resided within Asgard's walls, and yet...to his heart, you were foreign. Silently, he pleaded for the Norns to upend his hourglass. This moment...he wished it to last an eternity. Alas, your eyes soon retreated back to the comforting glow of the Moon. He tried to hide the festering displeasure with a grin.

A kaleidoscope of butterflies flapped their tiny, crystal wings along the walls of his stomach. "...Were you not surprised, at my presence? Scared, perhaps?"

"I suspected that Odin was not whom he claimed to be." You replied, fingers curling delicately around the flowers. "Would you prefer for me to cower, my liege?"

He laughed, relishing in his newest appellation. "I wouldn't object to you kneeling before me."

"I prefer to sit." Your voice flowed like a Siren's melody, and he was wittingly falling under its spell.

"What brought you into the palace gardens tonight?" He enquired, curious as to how you evaded detection - Odin's two most senior guards seemed to always refuse sleep.

You should have been caught. "The Moon - she shines brightest here. She calls to me, like a mother. And...perhaps she is."

But then, your meeting would have taken place under unfortunate circumstances. "Do you not have a mother?"

"No. I wonder about my past...the memories that endeavour to evade me. Something thwarts my efforts to recover them. That is why I carry this stone: Chiastolite. It calms, protects, wards off curses, and helps...in recalling one's past lives."

"It sounds fascinating. Do you, perchance, have a deeper connection to the Moon?" His question seemed odd, yet...warranted.

You found tranquillity in abundance, by looking to the Moon. "I...I wish to see a lunar rainbow."

"Changing the subject, darling?" He chuckled.

You mirrored him. "I apologise, Son of Odin...but I cannot furnish you with answers."

His heart melted, as a smile graced your lips. That alone could turn saintly such a roguish character. It was ravishing, and he would have commented so, if it were not far beyond the justice of paltry words. It blended perfectly on to your face. That was the greatest compliment his swooning mind could bestow. He feared his tongue a traitor, likely to fragment his words as this infatuation grew stronger, deeper. If you beheld his eyes now, you would see nothing but love...and awe. If you moved toward him, he would imprison your lips between his.

These intentions were belied by his demeanour. He was too smitten to masquerade as the picture of eloquence, but he could at least maintain a self-assured posture. After all, he was the God of Lies and Trickery. Although...to you, he might still be transparent.

Oh, by the Norns, you were a clever little thing.

You imparted on to him felicity, without behest. He wanted to worship you...to marry you. Your status was unclear, but it would never be of consequence. Whether commoner or royalty, Agardian or something different...he didn't care. He wanted you - a figure more divine than any. You were a temptation...someone impossible to forswear. If he left these gardens now...he might never see you again. The Full Moon encouraged risks, but that was just a smidge too foolish. He would spend eternity searching, yet never finding you. If he left now, without your hand...he might die.

He gathered the shreds of his graceful language, stitching them together as he spoke. "My dear...do you have many suitors? Men and women alike, vying for your heart?"

"All I have is the Moon." You smiled, a sudden and peculiar sorrow dancing in your eyes.

Loki thanked a thousand gods. "You bear more beauty any star, more wit and passion than any poet. You deserve reverence, and a husband who will cherish you, beyond even death. You deserve...a throne."

You blinked away that erstwhile woe. "...Are you courting me, Son of Odin?"

"I'm glad you noticed."

From now...you would be the subject of all his reveries, occupying his mind and heart ad infinitum.

[virtuosin]

Time was overall subjective when this far out beyond the Edgeworlds. It was hard to keep track of birthdays, and holiday events however being in the Empire, he had a sense for such things as they worked to help pinpoint memories, and schedules. So when the infamous day of Valentines had come around - Sona would find a box on the bed in the hotel room. Plain. Unassuming. Sat atop it would be a note which upon being unfolded would offer a map and instructions.

Follow the map through the tunnels by 23:45. Do not open the box until you reach the specified location. Use the light on top of the box to illuminate the tunnels. You will find something identifiable once you reach the designated spot.

The lights within the cavern city dimmed to entice the bio luminescent rock ceiling high above.  Torchlight took up the streets in a warm glow giving the atmosphere a welcoming, and peaceful vibe.  The tunnels too were lit, but only a short ways into the maze.  She would have to follow the map to the letter if she had any hope of locating the designated destination.

It would take… a little time.  A little effort. Starlight shimmers across the rockface made it seem like she were wandering the galactic plain.  A landscape threatening to consume her imagination with its warm twinkles, and dense atmosphere. Even the low laying mists looked like they were kissed with the colors of a nebula, swirling effortlessly with the sway of her steps and motion of her body.

It was upon arrival that the woman would find the identifiable marker.  A lantern hung low from an iron arm curved up and over a small mountain of sand and rocks.  Stones made stairs spiraling up to its crest to reveal a basket concealed under a small hand towel and two pillows stacked atop a folded blanket under the faint glow of quiet firelight contained within its glass prison.

Another note would be hung from a thin string dangling from the base of the lantern.

Blow out the candlelight, and open the box.

Should she do so, she would find that the cave was not as dark as it originally seemed as moonlight immediately consumed its reaches from an opening high above.  Higher than even the storms that raged across the surface of the planet.  The light was strange but not for the moon itself, but the source; the neutron start that blazed so strangely not terribly far off.  It’s bluish hue thrown off the snowcaps of the moon to radiate gently down into the depths of this place.  It was stunning.  But more than that – When she would open the box, a single flower would rest inside.  It stirred as it felt the rays with reactive pollen creeping from within the flower like tiny fireflies reaching out to the sky.  Harmless, and beautiful.  As the flower turned to bask in the moonlight, wide, vibrant petals would spread one at a time until fully blossomed.  It was alive.  Responsive even to the direction the lights would come from always seeking to embrace the rays as if it were the greatest gift that could be given to it.

Behind her Kayn stood with his hands rested to his back.  His eyes keen and observant, making a point to not give his position away.  To linger at the edges of her vision to drink in her response, and the unfurling of the moon flower.

It would be a few minutes giving her the ability to bask in the moment before he would make himself known, speaking plainly as he watched the tiny pollen fragments drift higher and higher forever seeking the rays of the moon.

“This moon flower is not named only for its reaction to lunar light, but because the pods actually thrive in space making homes on the surface of moons, or near to them.  Tide locked are among their favorites, and tend to prosper because there is no waning of light, nor necessity to relocate.”

His steps were calm, and calculated, taking his time to join her, “Consider this a gift.  A show of appreciation for your efforts despite–” Kayn waves his hand absently, “–our disagreements.” More like his disapproval of some things, but he surely wasn’t going to get into it.

If she were to pull the towel off the basket, she would find a simple, but well loved meal common among the people of her home world.  He doesn’t comment.  He simply tends to the blanket, unfolding it and plopping the pillows down so the pair had a place to sit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was late, and by the time Sona found the letter left behind by the Ordinal, Sona had already removed her binding for the day. She hoped he’d understand when she showed up to the location in her normal attire. In truth, she hadn’t any issues traversing the city nor the tunnels--aside from the abyss of twilight which nearly caused her to trip twice. But at least she made it safely within the hollowed out network of corridors. Part of her wondered what he had in store for her this time. Kayn was full of mysteries and his displays were nothing short of grandiose. Always one for the flair, that one. There could be all manner of things he could be plotting for her but...

Whatever she had been thinking--this wasn’t it.

Seated upon the blanket and pillows, Sona finds herself in the moonlit cavern, the flower in the box beside her and the basket on Kayn’s side. The meal before her is not only nostalgic, but coincidentally a favorite of hers;  Gyūdon--fresh rice with thinly sliced beef and fragrant slivered onions, cooked with dashi, soy, and mirin. There were even mushrooms and a bit of ginger as well. What’s more, it had a dollop of what looked to be shichimi, a type of ground chili pepper that Galrin was known for. It really was a shock to see a staple from home, to the point that she didn’t wish to disturb the bowl--instead she wanted to admire it for a bit longer, as if it were a piece of art not meant for consumption. Yet, the Ordinal’s pointed glare was all the silent urging she needed to grasp her chopsticks and dig in.

“I must have lost track of time. Certain holidays are universal, even where I’m from. This must mean we’re nearing the fire festival back at home.” Sona reflects aloud, her smile warm and bright. With a warm meal before her so reminiscent of home, she continues to eat and drown in the memories, allowing her senses to be taken over by the comforting sweetness of days past. “You’re full of surprises, Shieda. I gratefully accept this incredible gesture...heh, I don’t even know how you managed all this on Shedola. It’s nothing short of talented.” And she means it. Sona never seeks to fluff up anyone’s ego with hot air, least of all Kayn--he doesn’t need it. However, she’s able to recognize ingenuity, prowess, and ability when she sees it. “It does mean a lot...I-”

“-I don’t...have much to give to you in turn though.” Sona goes quiet for a moment, knowing that Kayn would dismiss such musings. Still, she couldn’t. If she had realized the date, she’d have prepared him baked goods--those were always a perfect gift around this time of year and she knew he enjoyed her food enough. Not that she had ample opportunity to do so, even if she had known of the holiday fast approaching. It gnawed on her mind that she hadn’t anything substantial to give such as a materialistic gift nor succulent--but a thought occurs to Sona as she finishes her bowl; a gift of a different kind that wouldn’t require much from her, but it would still be something which might interest the man so eager to learn.

“Shieda,” Sona calls out his name while standing up. “I know you’re an educated man, but perhaps you didn’t know-” Sona would glance over her shoulder towards the man, a faint smile on her lips. As she does, she steps forward, a hand upon her bosom to calm her racing heart. It’s such a simple thing that she’s about to do, and yet she can’t calm down. She can never shake the nerves, even in the privacy of this cavern. When was the last time she had done this?

“-the Order is quite an old organization and has been around for countless generations. While we have evolved with the times, there once was a time where we memorized oral histories and events. Nothing was ever written, only spoken. It made every individual in the group precious and important, as each carried with them part of the galaxy’s stories and traditions.” Sona smiles a bit brighter, hoping the flash of teeth would help calm her nerves. “The original Templars were nomadic, held no material possessions, and often communed with Ora--though most of their tales have faded into antiquity due to the nature of their paperless ideals. Only folklore and unverified recordings of events exist, knowledge still passed on from the founders of the past to the youth of today. Even if it bears no particular importance on the events of today, it is part of our values to learn of our forebears.” “What’s more-” Sona takes a deep breath. “-is that their voices live on through arcane scripture, written in a dead language that only High Templars are permitted to learn.” Sona turns, now facing the twinkling expanse of the cavern. With the milky moonlight pouring fourth from the opening in the ceiling, it nearly looks as though a halo of snow forms across her crown, an almost ethereal sight.

“Being who I am--what I am--I learned the archaic dialect and their ancient hymns.” And with a final breath to rid herself of what anxiety remained, Sona would part her lips--and she would sing. Music was her life, the small bit of self-expression and freedom afforded to her in life. It was an intimate experience, sharing her song to Kayn in that moment, using the language scarcely known in the entire universe.

“Kuwata tsunowo vralai Tsuriji pufuralekai Kwondzuvai undovartsu wronduwail Tjortetei jeki liago Jiunmata ivelischpfuli Neftyoma sorepiyamei Schijiyako alefni fatalliliya Nic'hpisfa unhoreselye Otrajain aforeje kurasolda Towari hatasei mic'hatasei tsufrallai Otrajain aforeje kurasolda Towari hatasei mic'hatasei tsufrallai ilja Ullilya kojijichatjukaijai-wa nyame fretsumekri fretsumekri linganmai Ulreri manja huteharraku-mu harirch lahadachfei lahadachfei shindulhwo“

It wasn’t a magnificent performance filled with pyrotechnics and an orchestral swell. She’s certain he’s heard far better among the Empire concert halls and various parades his home boasts. Even so, there is something so pure and sincere in her voice, in the way the acoustics of the cavern exemplify the purity to her singing. She had been so nervous to share her melody and part of her heritage to him, but now that her singing has ceased and she has a moment to breathe, she realizes that Kayn is not the type of man to scorn her for what makes her unique. Even as an Ordinal, he would not mock that which she offers him in kind. It’s not the exact gift she had in mind to give him, though she hopes the new insight on her people--and the performance itself--is still enjoyable for him...even without her beloved instrument.

And in the end, she was able to bear more of herself to him--something that is perhaps the most priceless thing of all.

[imagine-organization-xiii]

How would the Members react if their s/o brought back a little bunny rabbit they found back from a mission?

Another one from Sam! She’s really taking the initiative now that I’m so busy at work. It’s trial time for our attorneys so everyone’s going crazy, so everyone give her some love for picking up the slack!

Also, I ended up doing the Luxord and Marluxia ones since she wasn’t able to finish!

Xemnas

He is NOT pleased. Like, his expression stays the same as it almost always does, but you can clearly tell how displeased he is with you. Of course he doesn’t say this outright. 

”Hmmm….” the Superior’s low voice echoed through the hall. “What made you think that bringing a creature like this here? To the Castle that Never Was?” You suddenly regret bringing the creature anywhere near this place. When you answer, your voice shakes. The rabbit was hurt. You brought it back with you to try and help it. 

”Well… If it’s injured…” the Superior paused. “Maybe it isn’t fit to survive.” The superior took another step towards you and the rabbit and summons his glowing blade. You knew what was going to happen next and it horrified you. You quickly turned to run out of the room, but before you could reach the door, within a flash, then Xemnas appeared in front of you. But instead of striking down his wrath, the larger figure swooped in and got within inches of your ear and whispered. “Make sure the creature is gone by the next time you are within my sight, or I will do what I must.” 

Of course, you weren’t one to listen to rules. So you decided to instead, hide it and help heal the bunny yourself without getting caught and releasing it when it was healed. Some rules were meant to be broken, anyhow. 

But it doesn’t last long until Xemnas finds it and after a long argument, your stubborn ass gets the mighty Xemnas to agree that you may keep the rabbit, but it must be as FAR away from him as possible. Rabbits stink, after all.

Xigbar

As soon as he sees the little ball of fluff in your arms, Xigbar can’t help but start to laugh. “What is that you got there, kiddo?” he snickers. When you say, ‘it’s a rabbit’ like any normal person would respond, he shrugs “Well yeah, I can see that. What I meant was why do you have it?”

You tell him ‘why not?’ and explain that you want to keep it. And you are immediately given a taunting ‘tsk tsk tsk’ as Xigbar crossed his arms. “Hmmmm, the bossman isn’t gonna like this…” You sigh. He was right but.. “I’m in.” Wait what? You ask if you heard him correctly and he nods. “Yeah, sure, What the hell? This could be worth a few laughs to keep around for a while. Plus you seem pretty into it, so why not?” You smile and give the free-shooter a big kiss on his scarred cheek.

”Does this mean we also have to do it like rabbits, in the spirit of everything?” He gives you a playful smirk before punching him in the arm. What an ass.

Xaldin

”Why hello… What have we here?” The lancer peers down at the small fuzzy creature you’re holding in your arms as you entered your shared quarters. You tell him how you found this bunny alone in the woods and how it was much too small to be full grown and how you were hoping to do something to help it.

Xaldin reached down and picked up the small creature from your hands and looked it over. As he placed a finger on the tiny bunny’s head and gave it a small pet, he couldn’t help but smile. “Well you’re a sweet little thing, aren’t you?” The lancer cooed to the rabbit as he continues to pet the baby’s soft fur. It was actually incredibly sweet to see the usually hard faced lancer fawn over a baby bunny.

“Well, you’re right…” He sighed. “This little one is much too small to survive on it’s own.. Do you know anything about raising a baby bunny?” You grin. “I’ll Moogle it.”

Vexen

At first the scientist is absolutely thrilled to see you carry the rabbit in to him. “Oh wonderful, Y/N! You’ve found us a new test subject!! How intuitive of you! Now bring it here!” But as he reached out to take the rabbit from you, you pull back.

You explain that the rabbit was not for experimentation but because you wanted to keep it as a pet, and as soon as you do explain, Vexen is not pleased. He then explains exactly how many rules you are breaking for bringing such a filthy creature into the castle and how much trouble you could be in if you are caught.

As he gives you the riot act, he starts to he how upset you become, eyes filling with tears as he scolds you. And as soon as he does, the words stop. And now the scientist feels bad. Good going Vexen. But as you cry with the rabbit in your arms, he speaks again.

“Okay, alright. No - no tears.. Okay? You can keep the creature here for now.. And I’ll promise not to experiment on it… But you need to bring it back to where it came from by the end of the week. Alright?” You nod and give him a kiss on the cheek as thanks, knowing how much doing such a task would be for him.

Lexaeus

Oh man. You’ve brought this rabbit to just the right person. As soon as you come through the door and he sees the fluffy ball, the silent hero’s hardened featured soften immediately. Ans without a word, looks at you questioningly.

As you move your arm to better show the small bundle in your arms, the tiny creature pops it head up and looks up at Lexaeus. The larger man then reaches out and you place the bunny in his arms. Such a tiny creature looks even smaller as it sits in his giant hands. He pet the rabbit softly and smiled as he ran his fingers over the rabbits soft fur before speaking again. 

”You should bring it back,” he said, as he continued to fawn over the rabbit as if he didn’t just tell you to take it away.

“What? What do you mean bring it back? You love it!” You ask, but the silent hero only sighed.

“It won’t be happy here,” He said in a low tone looking sadly at the bunny. And then it clicked and you realized what was going through the mind of the silent hero. He knew how unhappy the rabbit would be in a place like this, and he didn’t want it to suffer. You sigh and place a kiss among the giant mans head.

“Okay… Let’s go bring it back.”

Zexion

Zexion doesn’t pay the rabbit much mind at first, not even looking up from his book when you come through the door to the library. It may have been your track record with these things, but it was as if the boy already knew that you were up to something. “What did you bring back?” he asks, refusing to tear his eyes from his reading to see what you had brought back this time. 

”Why don’t you look for yourself?” you smirk as he slowly looks up from the book to see the fluffy bundle in your arms, and as soon as he does, the boy’s expression changes completely. His eyes immediately grow soft  and his mouth opened just enough for a silent gasp to pass through. The bundle was so small. And he couldn’t help but look at it in that way.

”Where… Where did you find it?” He asks, in a much softer tone than he had moments before. You tell him how the rabbit was in the forest and seemed to follow you. You mentioned how you thought it wanted to come with you so you could take it home.

As you explained what had happened, the wonder in the boys eyes started to fade. He placed a hand on the rabbits head, caressing the soft fur before speaking again. “You took it from it’s home? To bring it here? Y/N… We should bring it back It doesn’t belong here with us…”

You knew he was right. As soon as he worded it that way, you suddenly realized the thing that you thought was right, wasn’t really a good situation for anyone. However, that didn’t stop the two of you from holding the rabbit a little longer and letting it hop around the library a short while before the both of you released the creature back where it belonged.

It wasn’t long after, however, that the two of you decided that the rabbit was so fun to have with them that day and you both traveled to the local Radiant Garden pet shop and looked into getting a domestic rabbit of your own, one that needed a new home.

Saix

”What is that?” The Lunar Diviner looked down on you with scrutiny as you held the little bunny in your arms. You pull you hand away and the tiny creature pops its head up and looked up and returned Saix’s gaze. He didn’t react much as the rabbit’s nose twitched and sniffed the air. He really didn’t show much of an expression at all. He just stared down silently for a moment, looking at the rabbit with stern disapproval before speaking. “It can’t stay here. It needs to go.”

Your mouth hangs open a moment before you start to object, claiming how it wasn’t safe for such a small bunny to be out on it’s own and how he wasn’t giving the opportunity a chance and was being unfair, but with one glance up into your eyes from him silenced you greatly. His golden eyes felt like they had pierced your soul with a single glance.

With that glance, you knew he had made his decision. Sadness wells in your eyes as you agree that little rabbit needed to go and agreed to take it home, but before you could open the dark portal, he spoke again.

”Not now,” he stated with a commanding tone. “It is late, and you must rest. We can go return the creature tomorrow. For now… we can keep it. I will make the necessary preparations.” With the omission, you smile and place a kiss on the Diviner’s cheek before making your way to your shared quarters with your new friend.

That night, you played with the rabbit as it scampered across the floor and giving it pets and all around having a good time, but as much as you urged him, you could not get Saix to come near the rabbit let alone even pet it. He simply watched from a nearby chair in the room as you and the rabbit played. And as you went to sleep that evening, you sighed, knowing that you and the bunny were going to be parting ways the next morning. But you were happy to have had the chance to play with the bunny that you did. 

Sleep came quickly for you, but you had the strangest dream that night. It felt as you awoke in the night but instead of sleeping next to you, Saix was sitting in a chair across the room, holding the rabbit close to him and gently stroking the creatures soft fur. And you could swear he was… talking to it.

“You have made her so happy, little rabbit, and for that I thank you. I wish I could bring her as much joy as you do, but we are beings that can’t provide such comforts. Not that you understand me…” You quickly fell asleep again after that, but awoke the next morning to see Saix asleep in bed as he was before. It had to have been a dream… Right?

Axel

As soon as you bring the bunny through the door, the guy’s expression breaks out into a cheeky grin. “Aw hey! You got yourself a friend!” he chuckles as you continue petting the little bunny. “Where did you find this one?” As you sit next to him on the sofa in your quarters, you explain that you had found the little guy out on a mission and that you had decided to bring the little guy home with you until it’s injury healed and it could survive on it own. The redhead can’t seem to help himself but chuckle.

”You really are a good person, you know that?” he smiles, but the smile almost seems sad. “You always are bringing home injured animals and helping others when they need you… You ever think that… you’re in the wrong business?”

You look at him, confused, before you place a gentle kiss on his cheek. “My place is here, with you!” you smile back, and Axel lets out a soft laugh, one different from the chuckle before. This one was almost… more vulnerable.

”Yeah… Right. With me.” He pauses, assumedly lost in thought to somewhere you couldn’t go. He would seem to go to this place often in recent months, but whenever you would ask if he was okay, he would ask you to not worry and quickly shift back to the Axel you knew, and this worried you. This time, instead of asking what was wrong, you decide to change the subject.

“Axel? Do you wanna hold him?” you ask, and it’s as if you calling his name brings him back from his thoughts.

“Oh, uh. Sure? Sure. Why not?” he shrugs and holds his hands out to take the rabbit as you gently place the fuzzy little thing into his arms. The bunny settles into the redhead’s arms with little struggle and quickly gets comfortable as Axel starts to stroke the rabbits soft fur with his free hand. As he continued to pet the rabbit, the pain and worry in his face started to relax, as if this simple action was enough to soothe his worries, at least for the moment.

“This is… really nice.” Axel smiles softly, and it was a smile you knew was genuine. It was soft, and almost carefree. But then, the smile disappeared and a face of fear.

“Is something wrong?” you ask swiftly, fully prepared to take the rabbit from him at a moment’s notice.

“I– I think it peed on me?!” Quickly you scramble up and take the rabbit from Axel and sure enough, right there on the redheads coat a nice little wet spot from where the rabbit peed on him.

You tried to be nice, but you could not help laughing hysterically as Axel stood up and tried to wipe the pee from his coat.

”Aw man!! No This isn’t funny!! Aaghhh Now I’m gonna smell like bunny pee!!” But your laughter doesn’t relent and soon enough Axel is laughing right alongside you. This bunny pet project is going to be really fun.

Demyx

“Hey welcome ba– Whoa! Oh my god, is that a rabbit?” The musician excitedly asks as soon you enter the door after a long mission, but before you can enter the room any more, the boy had already swarmed to you, staring quizzically at ball of fluff in your arms. “Can I pet it?”

You nod enthusiastically as the boy reaches out a hand to pet the soft little rabbit, and as soon as his hand presses against the soft fur, another excited noise escapes his lips.

“Woooow!!! So soft!!” He exclaims as he continues to pet the rabbit as you hold him in your arms. You urge Demyx to be gentler with his petting as the rabbit is soft and delicate. You then ask if he would like to hold the bunny and it was as if every star in the sky appeared in his eyes. You quickly took his expression as a yes and instructed him how to hold the rabbit before placing it gently in the musicians arms. And as soon as the rabbit settled in, Demyx made another excited squeal.

“This is… SO COOL!” he exclaimed but you quickly hushed him, saying how the rabbit is still a skittish animal and could be easily startled. “Oh! Sorry!” The boy replied in a loud whisper. He was trying his best. “I just was so excited that I forgot that we needed to be quiet!” And with his explanation, you couldn’t help but laugh.

You both broke out into silly laughter as the rabbit simply twitched it nose in confusion, but within a flash Demyx’s smile disappeared. Before you could ask what was wrong, the answer became perfectly clear as Saix’s voice erupted from behind you through the doorway. Oh yeah. You forgot to close the door.

“Is that what I think it is?” The blue hair wasted no time staring Demyx down with that piercing stare of his. And of course the soft boy holding the bunny couldn’t do much more than stutter.

“I— Uh– This is–”

“That was a rhetorical question, Demyx. I can see that there is a wild animal in your hands.” The Lunar Diviner slowly reached down, and picked up the rabbit with trying to make as little contact with the creature as possible and placed it in your hands. ”Y/N, would you kindly send this creature back to where it belongs while I escort number IX to his new position for the next month on dish cleaning duty?” He asked as he grabbed your partner by the arm and harshly dragged him out of the room.

”WHAT? BUT THAT’S DUSK WORK!!!” He objected. 

”Not anymore.” Saix retorted before disappearing down the hall with the small musician lagging behind. Demyx never ratted you out for being the one who brought the rabbit into the castle in the first place and took his punishment in stride. That was just like him. And even though you had to send the rabbit home, you were still kind of happy the three of you got to have those moments together.

Luxord

You didn’t expect Luxord to be in your shared quarters when you walked inside, but he was. He looked up from the table where he was sitting and smiled, eyes flickering down to the fluffy bundle you carefully cradled in your arms.  You followed his gaze and glanced up. “I can explain.”

“I’d more prefer if you explained how you managed to get it past Xemnas,“ he said. He stood and walked over to you, hovering as he examined the rabbit. He reached out and rubbed behind its ears with the tips of his fingers.  “It’s adorable, but he’d never let you keep it.“

“And that won’t be a problem if we all keep our mouths shut, right?“ you warned, almost as a threat. “The poor thing was shivering in the cold outside and I couldn’t just leave it there.“

“You and your bleeding heart,“ he replied, chuffing you playfully under the chin. “I won’t cover for you if you get caught.“

“Noted.“ There was a pause. “I hope you realize that this means I’m keeping it in our room for the unforeseeable future.“

“Yes,“ he sighed. “I figured you would. Just make sure it doesn’t reproduce. I don’t think I’d have the patience for that.“

Marluxia

Marluxia was always prone to overreactions, but whatever response you were expecting from him when you brought the adorable little bunny into your room, it certainly wasn’t anger.

“What... the fuck... is that?“

“Uh...“ You were wondering if it was supposed to be a trick question as you looked down at the rabbit in your arms.  It curled up into your sweatshirt and shut its eyes sleepily.  “A bunny?“

“Where did you find it?“ he demanded.

“... In your garden? I found him under one of the shrubs. He was -“

“That little bastard has been eating my plants for the last six weeks. GET RID OF IT!“

Wide-eyed, you protectively cradled the animal to your chest as if Marluxia would just reach out and snatch it from your arms. “No! It’s not his fault if he was hungry!  He was just looking for something to eat! He’s just a baby!”

“A little baby that destroyed my begonias!“

“Well now he’s my pet,“ you scoffed, gently rubbing your face against the soft fur.  “Look, he’s cute and he likes you!“ You lifted the bunny in your arms, holding it up dangerously close to Marluxia’s face. It sniffed at his nose and let out the most adorable sneeze you ever heard. “Aw, isn’t that nice!“

Marluxia wrinkled his nose in what you were sure is disgust, but he just shook his head and scowled.  “I take it that there’s nothing I can do to get you to bring it five hundred miles away from here, isn’t there?”

“Absolutely not.“

Larxene

”AgH!! What is That THING?!” Larxene squeals, jumping back 20 feet from where you were standing holding the rabbit in your arms. “Is it a rat? A big rat? And you’re holding it?!?”

You look at her, seriously perplexed. “Uh… No? Larxene, it’s a rabbit… You do know what a rabbit is… right?”

”What? Of course I know what a rabbit is!” She snaps. “I just… Haven’t seen one in person before.”

You let out a little gasp. Did she really just say that? This needs to be remedied immediately. You sit down on the edge of the bed and inch closer to where Larxene sat and urged her to pet the bunny.

At first she refused, but she stared at the little harmless creature in your arms with skepticism before slowly reaching an arm out and hesitantly placing her fingertips on the rabbits head between it’s long ears. And as soon as she felt the bunny’s soft fur, the fear on face disappeared.

”Whoa! It’s so… Soft.” She says with surprise as she continued to pet the rabbit.  You smirked as she quickly gave in to the temptation of the rabbit’s soft fur. At first she only allowed the pads of her fingertips to touch the ball of fur but eventually found her hand stroking the tiny beast from it’s head and down its back. It was obvious that both Larxene and the bunny were enjoying themselves. 

”You want to hold it?” You ask and she looks at you with shock.

“Can I?” You nod and slowly place the creature on her lap, and within a second, the rabbit snuggles itself in the nymphs lap and looks very pleased. Larxene’s mouth falls open as she softly gasps.

”So… We’re keeping it, right?” She asks. 

With a chuckle, you nod. “Absolutely.”

Roxas

As the rabbit hopped closer, Roxas’ eyes went wide and looked to you in question, almost pleading with his eyes. ‘Can I pet it?’ With a grin, you wiggle a nod and urge the boy on. Cautiously, his hand came up, and landing in front of the bunny, allowing it to sniff his hand. It sniffed for just a moment before sliding it’s head against the boys hand and allowing a pet.

As Roxas’ hand touched the fur, he gasped quietly to himself, maybe even unaware he did it. But his wonder just made you feel so good. If you had a heart, you knew it would have been swelling in your chest. It just made you so glad that you could do something like this for Roxas.

”Oh, cool!” Roxas smiles as you bring the rabbit into the room, its soft little face sniffing the air and examining this new place. You shut the door behind you and place the small bunny loose on the floor as Roxas stepped closer to get a better the little creature.

He sits on the ground near the bunny, watching it hop along the floor and you soon join him.  You both sit quietly on the floor a minute, watching the tiny fluff hop and explore its new surroundings. 

”Look at it check the place out…” The boy points out as the rabbit sniffs a nearby table leg. You look over to Roxas as see that for the first time in weeks, that he is smiling. To see him having fun and enjoying something as simple as this. Well it was cathartic. As the bunny finished it’s romp around the room, it moved closet to Roxas, sniffing the boy’s foot curiously before coming closer.

Xion

She had never seen a rabbit up close like this before and this fact is very apparent that she is trapped in wonder as she steps closer to you upon realizing what you are holding. “Can… Can I touch it??” She asks, just above a whisper, almost afraid of scaring the little thing. 

As soon as you nod in approval, her hand is reaching out to gently touch the bunny’s soft fur. And as her hand makes contact with the fur, a tiny gasp escaped her lips. 

“It’s so soft!” she whispers excitedly as she continued to pet the bunny. Watching her be so happy and enthralled was enough to be worth any kind of trouble you were going to get in for bringing the rabbit into the castle in the first place.

[jeffreydove]

Sophia Woodsman: What Lies On The Moon

The sedan was old and rusted, but it was mine - and it was going to the moon. Come at me, NASA.

    My car’s frame bucked as our speed increased on the rainbow road made of Starlight. Grace clutched the passenger door reflexively.

    “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” She glanced at the shaking dashboard, “Either of you. We could have taken my dad’s town car.”

    Grinning like a madwoman, I squeezed the bare steering wheel and laughed as Starlight shone on my face in a kaleidoscope of colors. Grace was reserved on the best of days, but today, her brown eyes had an especially severe edge to them.

    “It’s fine, Grace,” I bubbled. “My car runs alright, and I’ve studied everything there is to know. Besides, I’m sure you’ve entered plenty of Starlight realms.”

    Grace panicked, whipping her head to look at me incredulously. The car shook with a loud “Crack!” multi-colored light reflecting off the windows.

    “What?! Sophia, what the hell? I’ve never done this before!”

    Oh… she hadn’t? Without turning my head, I glanced at her out of the corner of my eyes. She raised her eyebrows with a small head shake as if to say, “Yeah, idiot.”

    Returning my eyes to the dazzling road in front of me, I took a deep breath. Fear and adrenaline filled my chest as reality dripped away around us.

    My voice was small, almost a whisper, “Right. We got this.”

    In a single swipe of silvery light, our bodies dissipated. There wasn’t any pain, but I couldn’t tell if my life was just done or on a loading screen. My perception hung there in the silvery void - but with no “me” to speak of. I wanted to scream. Time for all that studying to save my life.

    The book was Pockets in Space by the illustrious Alberto De Leon. “The realms of Starlight constitute pure intelligent existence, the basic building block of course then being - the decision.”

    It wasn’t a great read.

    “A caller must needs reconstitute oneself by invoking the essence of their identity. When difficult to determine, core personal decisions may be found by addressing this most basic of queries: What is most important to you?”

    I could feel Grace next to me already forming back into herself. Dammit. I was the infamous Starcaller of Earth. I was the reason we could even attempt this in the first place. The reason we were here. But she was always better than me. Faster. Smarter. More level headed.

    I was tired of being the second rate caller always getting shown up. I was ready to play in her league. Sure, I wasn’t a member of fancy House Majesty, but I could hold my own. This was my opportunity to show that, and I wanted that more than anything.

    And there it was. I felt my body solidify, and found myself on the back of an animal with Grace. The moonlight around us was still forming an environment, but she was herself, as clear as ever. Her dark skin contrasted against a silvery satin dress. But her face was twisted in concern - as she looked at me.

    I lifted little hands to my face, then examined thin spindly arms. The animal we were on stopped as my voice squeaked out, “This doesn’t seem quite right.”

    Grace carefully shook her head, “No, Sophie. I think you did it wrong. You look like a kid.”

    As we spoke, the animal got nervous, and rotated its long grey head around to look at us. It began braying, “Hee-haw, hee-haw.”

    The creature bucked, and we both fell to the soft dirt ground. The beast looked sickly with droopy eyes and patchy fur. It regarded us with naked arrogance.

    I exchanged a glance with Grace, “What’s with the judgmental donkey?”

    She chuckled, “I would imagine that’s the noble steed we rode in on.”

    My “car” looked me right in the eyes and peed. The smell went straight into my brain, tingling like wasabi. Grace gagged and we scurried away.

    “When’s the last time you got your oil changed?” She gasped.

    “Sunday?” I estimated.

    “This last Sunday?”

    “I mean I think it was on a Sunday.”

    “Yeah, what year?”

    “Shut up.”

    Ignoring Grace for a moment, I took stock of our surroundings. It was a normal wooded area, but all in monochrome - the green of grass and leaves replaced with bright silver.

    Starlight realms are deeply personal, and you can only enter realms of the planet you’re aligned to unless someone else brings you along. There aren’t any Starcallers of the moon, but the moon is subservient to the Earth, so we theorized I’d be able to get us here.

    And I had. I took a moment to let that sink in. Despite whatever was going on with my body and the car, this had worked. Starlight power of the moon was only a theory - until now.

    My tiny voice piped up, “We did it. It’s real.”

    But I was a firm believer in save twice, save often. So I wanted out of this place, “Maybe we should head back now and tell the older callers.”

    Grace bit her lower lip, looking away.

    “I’m not so sure they’d even believe us,” she ventured.

    “Well not me of course, but they’ll believe you” I replied.

    That guilty expression turned sad and she shook her head, “I dunno. Maybe. It’d be better if we could bring back proof.”

    Proof? What did she mean, proof? It’s not like we were going to pluck baubles out of imagination land to bring back home with us.

    “Maybe we can find some starlight artifacts here and reconstitute them in reverse when we leave,” she mused.

    God dammit.

    “It’s been done before in other realms,” she wheedled.

    I sighed as I grabbed the donkey’s reigns and walked towards the top of a forested hill.

    “Sure, Grace. We can look around for a little bit. But I don’t want to get stuck like this, and the donkey’s seen better days.”

    Her eyes moved left and right, shepherding her thoughts.

    “We just need to find something important. Like a nexus of lunar power or something along those lines,” she said.

    As I looked out over the valley on the other side of the hill, I just shook my head in disbelief. A large squat silvery temple was built across the entire base of the valley. Moonlit trees grew up and around it in fractal patterns.

    I smiled and pointed, “Just throwing it out there, and I’m open to suggestions - but we could check in there.”

    Her face beamed with excitement. And exchanging a single nod, we made our way to the temple in the center of the moon.

    The temple was more shelter than building. Open on all sides, the silvery vegetation grew everywhere inside the stone structure. Grace was taken in by it all, brushing her left hand over the wall to examine it. Many times, I’d seen her form a fist with that hand, focusing her Starlight into the brilliant ruby ring she wore on her middle finger. But here, even it was reflecting in black and white.

    I followed her loosely with the donkey. My short legs were getting tired.

    “I wish I could figure out what went wrong with my body,” I complained.

    She responded absently while examining carvings on the stone walls, “You probably channeled the wrong essence. Did you focus honestly on the core of who you are?”

    I resisted the urge to sing-song her question back to her. In truth, I hadn’t been focused at all. I was mostly jealous that she had her crap together. Speaking of which, she seemed to reconstitute perfectly.

    “What did you focus on?” I asked.

    She hesitated, then spoke quickly “Oh, nothing. It’s not important.”

    “Well it seemed to work out great for you, so it’s not nothing. What was it?” I demanded.

    She turned around, anger in her eyes, “It’s none of your business, Sophie. You clearly have your own problems. Why don’t you focus on them instead of badgering me?”

    Ouch. Well there it was. Grace was practically a princess of House Majesty, but she’d stood by me anyway. Treated me like an equal. But I always knew better. When the chips were down, she was one of them. Better than me. Too good to slum it with a heretic and share how she reconstituted perfectly on the first try.

    I dropped the donkey’s reigns and threw my hands up, “Fine, I’ll figure it out on my own. Good luck finding your ‘lunar nexon' or whatever.”

    The beast began to “hee-haw” neurotically as I left. And look, I play Guardians of Greystone. I know what a nexus is. I was just pissed at her. Some distance would be good to clear my head.

    The inner walls of the temple formed a maze of small rooms and alcoves. Now on my own, I distracted myself by exploring the little rooms. And soon enough, my investigations turned up a dark set of stairs leading down into a basement.

    For a moment, I considered telling Grace, but she wanted me to take care of things on my own anyway, so that’s what I did. I descended the stairs into darkness.

    At the bottom of what felt like a marathon of steps, smooth moonlight shimmered around a corner lighting up the darkness. It swayed back and forth on the stone walls with a rhythm that seemed eerily close to breathing.

    That corner led into a massive basement room, albeit one without a floor. A single catwalk lead all the way across the pit, with a circular dais in the middle. The pit, however, wasn’t empty. And I nearly jumped when I saw it.

    Massive shimmering scales lined the lunar dragon’s hide. It slept in the pit beneath the little bridge, curled up nose-to-butt. Its razor sharp wings folded around itself forming a blanket. He would have been adorable sleeping there if every inch of him didn’t inspire terror in anyone who laid eyes on him.

    Motion caught my eye on the far side of the room, and I could barely make out a woman in a shimmery dress making her way down the catwalk on the other side of the room.

    Grace! I wanted to scream at her. What are you doing, there’s a freaking dragon there! But I followed her focus towards the dais in the center - where two glowing honest to god lunar artifacts sat on stone pedestals.

    One, a long gnarly dragon’s tooth, the other a silvery dragon eye the size of a Yoga balance ball. And she was going to get there first.

    Stealthily traversing a small bridge is exactly the sort of situation the Starlight of Earth is suited for, but I was unprepared. My reagents were all back in the car - or the donkey or whatever. So I’d just have to make it on my own.

    My annoyingly small body crept across the bridge, the dragon’s slow breathing causing moonlight to cascade back and forth across the little walkway. I had hoped being a child would make me quieter, but my brain was mapped to normal me, and I felt clumsy as hell.

    Grace got there first, no surprise, and I watched as she examined the artifacts. I’m not sure what she saw, but her mouth curled up into a smile as she grabbed the glowing tooth with her left hand. And as though it were responding to her touch, the dragon beneath us snorted - and woke up.

    Her eyes went wide as the dragon reared up in a single jerky motion, his back demolishing the piece of bridge I was standing on. I jumped as far as my little legs could take me and rolled clumsily to a stop on the dais.

    Not to be outdone, I grabbed the eye from the pedestal as the creature whirled around beneath us. The circular platform shook like an earthquake as the dragon shifted around down there. And then it leapt forward through a massive tunnel I hadn’t noticed, its tail slapping the dais and knocking both of us off our feet.

    We both reached out with a single free hand and grabbed on to the lip around the edge of the platform. My body strained as I barely held on, jerking once from the force of the fall.

    Grace hung there as well, her left hand barely holding the dragon’s tooth. Her left hand, the one with her ruby ring. The hand she had to form into a fist in order to use her Starlight. Shit.

    I still had the eye balanced awkwardly between my right arm and hip. God, my muscles hurt. I hated this little kid body. I wasn’t going to be able to hang on much longer.

    But I wasn’t about to lose. This was my time. I got us here, and I wasn’t going to be the one to leave here empty handed. I looked at Grace.

    “Let go of the tooth, then pull yourself up with both hands. Then you can pull me up, and we’ll get out of here.”

    She shot me a dirty look and tried to pull herself up with a single arm, struggling while hanging on to the heavy tooth. She got maybe an inch, then almost lost her grip entirely.

    “Grace!” I shouted.

    She looked at me, then down to the tooth in her hand. I could almost see her swallow her pride when she turned desperate eyes towards me. The rumbling subsided, and the room went silent.

    “I thought about my dad,” she blurted out. The statement echoing throughout the pit.

    I shook my head at her, “What?”

    “When we reconstituted. This is a chance for him to notice me. To take me seriously. To respect me. If we prove a new source of power exists here, he’ll have no choice but to look at me.”

    I’d had no idea, and just hung there with a dumbstruck look on my face.

    Grace shook her head, “I sort of wish I’d ended up like you. At least that would mean there’s more to me than dad. But even this place thinks I’m defined by him.”

    She looked ashamed, “I need this, Sophie.”

    I… wasn’t used to thinking of Grace as someone who struggled - with anything really. But it made sense. The way she was acting. It wasn’t about me. She had her own problems, and I wanted to be there for her.

    That was it!

    My jealousy. My insecurities. As real as they were, they were distractions. What I wanted most was to be there for my friend. She needed this more than I did, and I’d been too stupid to see it. Enriching her world would enrich mine.

    With that thought, I felt strength returning to my arms. A calm came over me, and I knew immediately what I needed to do.

    I caught her eyes with mine and smiled. My voice now my own and resolute, “I’m here for you, Grace.”

    I chucked the eye into the void beneath us, and vitality surged back into my body, restoring me completely. I felt my face mature and my limbs lengthen.

    Pulling hard with both arms, I practically leapt up on to the ledge. I grabbed Grace’s arm and hauled her up until she could get her legs underneath her.

    “Time to go,” I said.

    “Agreed.”

    We both scrambled to safety, making our way to the tunnel she came in through. There was no sign of the dragon as we reached the donkey still waiting there in the center of the temple’s ground floor.

    “Maybe it forgot about us?” Grace suggested.

    And then the far side of the valley absolutely erupted as the massive dragon burst out of the ground. Its silvery head had a severe underbite, and its one eye darted back and forth, looking everywhere, unsynchronized with the head as if it had a mind of its own.

    And then it stretched like a dog at the top of the valley, albeit the size of barge. Its crazy eye locked on to us, and it pushed off the ground, silvery wings carrying it towards us.

    I looked at Grace. I looked at the donkey. And I had an idea.

    “I insisted on taking my car because it was mine. Even though your dad’s is in better shape, I thought I needed to prove I could do it without help from your family.”

    She looked at me, then back at the rushing dragon, her eyes huge, “Yeah, Sophie, I kind of figured. Are we doing last words or something? Cause I’d still like to get out of here.”

    I smiled, “I wasn’t really fessing up to you. More myself, I think. I’m starting to realize just how much the truth matters in this place. Watch.”

    Accepting my dumb decision to bring my crummy car for what it was, my calm spread to the donkey. And the braying faded into an equally obnoxious panic button alarm as the beast transformed back into my neglected sedan.

    Grace laughed victoriously, “Nice!”, and we strapped into the car.

    I had assumed flying around to the front of the temple would slow the dragon down at least a little, but it had other plans. Bee lining towards us, it crashed through two of the support columns holding the back of the temple up.

    The engine rumbled on, and for the first time in my life, I literally floored it. The back end of the sedan spun way out, and I nearly lost control as huge chunks of stone temple fell from the sky around us.

    Smaller pieces of dust and debris were being sucked backwards past us, and I realized the dragon was taking a very deep breath.

    “Crap! Glove compartment!” I yelled.

    Grace flicked it open, and handed me a styrofoam cup filled with Starlight-infused soil of the Earth. Unceremoniously, I grabbed a handful of the dirt, quickly spat the phrase, “Perfection of Fitness,” and absorbed all the Starlight I could.

    In an instant, my body heated up. Fat burned. Muscle repaired, but most importantly - my reflexes and perceptions got jacked.

    In slow motion, I saw the solid mass of lunar fire shoot out from the dragon’s mouth like a laser beam.

    His aim was respectable - he was leading me perfectly, the little shit. But my hands were steady, my motions sure - even with bits of dirt now everywhere.

    Pulling on the emergency brake, I cranked the steering wheel, and my sedan drifted in a long arc, just barely missing ground zero of the blast. The dragon raised its head, and the tail end of the beam swiped up and across the final temple columns in front of us. The temple’s entrance - our exit - began to fall.

    “Keep going, I’ve got this,” I heard Grace say in slow motion.

    I’d seen her control objects before, but nothing of that size. It was our best shot though, and I gunned it. She held her left fist out towards the windshield, and the ruby on her ring glowed red, the first bit of color I’d seen in this place warming the monochrome.

    The pillars in front of us froze in place - mid fall. But holy crap, it wasn’t just that. I realized in that moment that the entire ceiling was dropping on us, and that too was frozen in the air five feet above the car.

    Her eyes were strained in concentration as sweat dripped down her face. Just a few seconds more, Grace.

    And then the ruby on her ring exploded. The force of it smacked her hand against the passenger side window, and she yelped as everything came crashing down.

    But the little car’s engine was true, if only just, and the structure fell to the ground in our wake. We emerged from the fallen temple in a cloud of dust and smoke. I did not look back.

    It was a small miracle the car didn’t get stuck in the grassy hill leaving the valley, but we made it. Back where we entered this realm, I could feel the energy of reality hanging there. We could go home. And none too soon. Who knew how close the dragon was to catching up again.

    I turned to Grace, “You still have it?”

    She giggled, lifting the large silver tooth from the back seat.

    “Now that is an artifact worth remembering. Pretty sure that’s gonna make an impression on him,” I said.

    Grace wore a proud hopeful grin, “Yeah. I think you’re right.”

    I took one last look at the silver forest, revved the engine, and willed us back to the real world.

                                                           * * *

    Lord Thomas’ office was tactically tidy. Three certifications decorated the otherwise bare eggshell walls. Curtains were drawn half shut over a huge window that overlooked Crosschester’s business district.

    He wore a black suit and sat on a simple wooden chair behind his desk. He was bald and had deep brown eyes that could bore a hole through your soul. I got the impression lying to this man would be a pointless endeavor, and I shuttered to think of what he saw when he looked at me with those eyes.

    He motioned for us to approach. We did, but declined to sit on the nice leather seats prepared for guests. He stood as Grace held out the silvery dragon’s tooth.

    Her voice was nervous, “Hi dad. We were able to get to the moon successfully. Lunar starlight is real. We brought back this.”

    He took the artifact in his hands and regarded it with a skeptical smirk. His eyes found me for a moment, and then he shrugged, placing the tooth down on his desk.

    “It’s… at very least a curiosity. Maybe Ethan’s team will look it over.”

    Grace took in a quick breath, like she was about to respond, but he just walked away. He hardly even acknowledged her as he made his way to the office’s door, “I have a meeting with King Crowe. You broke your ring. Fix it soon, it’s dangerous like that.”

    And with that, he was gone. I wanted to protest, but it was already too late. Shit. Was that really it? It happened so quick.

    Grace stood there by her father’s desk, looking brittle and very alone. In all the years I’d known her, I’d never seen her like that, and it broke my heart. She’d been there for me so many times. I couldn’t make this right, but I had to do something.

    I walked up beside her, took her hand, and squeezed. She squeezed back as her shoulders shook.

    “You did a really good job today,” I said. “What we did was important. I’d have never been able to do it without you. Thank you.”

    I felt her sad smile, but didn’t look to see if there were tears. She wouldn’t want me to. Her voice was small, “Thanks, Sophie. It means a lot.”

    I felt her place the silvery tooth in my hand.

    “You should probably head home,” she said.

    What?

    “But your dad just said someone was going to look into it. When they do, they’ll see that lunar starlight is real! That’ll change everything! Our entire understanding…”

    “Sophia, no,” her bitter voice interrupted. “It’s not happening. They don’t care. Ethan’s backlog is a black hole. Take it. Just take it.”

    I… was stunned. How could they not care about something this important? But Grace seemed resolute, and I wasn’t about to argue with her. I took the artifact, gave her a hug, and left her in her father’s office. I could tell my roommate wanted to be alone for a bit. She knew I’d be there when she was ready. I’d be sure of it. I headed home.

    When the garage door closed behind me, I reclined my seat and laid there with the tooth resting on my chest - contemplating a world that didn’t want to move forward. The heretic Starcaller of the Earth didn’t have that luxury. I had to move forward. And not just keeping up with Grace. I realized I had to start doing things my way.

    Placing the tooth on the dash, I pondered what I had to offer to this crazy world, and the tooth began to glow with the light of the moon. Static crackled in my car’s speakers as wispy tendrils of silvery smoke formed into the lunar dragon’s head on my dashboard, albeit the size of a bull’s. Its raspy voice spoke over the car radio.

    “Caller, you seek the truth. This pleases Luna.”

    Huh, I smirked, looking at the familiar.

    He continued, “There is much I can teach someone who’s willing to see things as they truly are.”

    New options. My loadout was expanding. And not despite being an outsider - but because of it. My heart warmed at the thought. Somewhere in this tangled mess of new roads ahead - was me, the person I was meant to be. And for the first time in my life, I was sure of it.

    I looked at the little dragon, confidence and mischief dancing in my eyes.

    “Alright, then. What can you teach me?

    I’m ready to learn.”

[danvssomethingorother]

@amydiddle

Past: The high priestess 

The High Priestess is arguably the most difficult of the Major Arcana to qualify with words alone, because so much of her power and ability is veiled in mystery that it is difficult for anyone to fathom it all.  Every card in the Tarot speaks differently to everyone, but the Priestess seems to bear the widest range of interpretations, because she speaks directly to the Inner Voice, the unconscious mind.  She is the manifestation of the unconscious and the effects of the mysterious in our everyday world.  Trying to see how such mysteries work often defeats their purpose, and with this in mind, the High Priestess will be explained in as much detail as possible.

She is, above all else, the base of potential that is the source of the power wielded by the Magician.  She is the unlimited potential that allows him to transform and create whatever his Will desires.  Understanding this type of balance, as found between potential and creation, masculine and feminine, is the key to unlocking some of the mysteries of the High Priestess.  We see the clear progression of the theme of balance; instead of integrating opposites, the Priestess keeps them separate and keeps them in balance nonetheles.  She herself is the scales; this symbolism is found in many Tarot decks.  Without this balance there can be no power.

The second symbolic motif found in almost all instances of the High Preistess are symbols of the unconscious mind.  On the Rider-Waite version this motif is especially prominent, but most decks feature at least some lunar imagery that in turn has ties to the unconscious.  Most decks that have the "twin pillars" symbology also depict a veil strung between those pillars; the High Priestess stands between us and that veil as a moderator.  Behind the veil lies the powers of the unconscious, which we cannot start to understand but which, through her, we can learn to control.  She is the gateway to realms that we may never fully comprehend or master.

While it would be impossible for anyone to learn all of her mysteries and secrets, the High Priestess remains as a guide to those of us willing to venture deep within our minds to discover the true powers hidden deep inside each of us.  This is the same power as that depicted on the Magician, but the scope of the Priestess' power is far different.  While the Magician focuses his powers outward, to achieve a meaningful effect on the world, the High Priestess shows us that we can also use these powers on an inner level, to enrich and transform ourselves.  Such transformations are certainly not as dramatic as the Magician's, but they are almost always more powerful.

The High Priestess represents the mysteries of the unconscious and the Inner Voice, and her appearance is often a sign that your own intuition is trying to send you a message.  The unconscious often speaks to us in symbols, so be alert around you for anything that seems out of the ordinary.  This said, if you have an important decision to make when the Priestess appears, this is often a sign that the answers will be revealed to you, if you are patient and open to the whispers from within.  You simply have to wait and be receptive to inner messages.  Her lesson is that everything you need to know already exists within you.

The theme of dualism in the High Preistess cannot be avoided either.  She is often a sign of the Shadow, the negative portion of your personality that no one sees, and that you yourself could be unaware of.  (In this sense, the term 'negative' does not refer to evil, just the opposite polarity from the positive and expressive part of your personality.)  If you accept the Shadow within you, its powers will be open to you if you wish to use them.  In most people the Shadow side is the more passive of the two, and the Priestess can therefore advocate a need for passivity in a situation.  It is not always necessary to act; sometimes goals can be realized through inaction.

Present: The Sun 

The Sun symbolizes many things depending on how you look at it.  The ancients saw the sun as the giver of life and light, and almost every polytheistic faith has a Sun God.  It brings light and clarity after a period of darkness and confusion, and in this sense the Sun God is often a redeemer as well; a bringer of peace and good times after ordeals.  Finally, the Sun is a symbol of steadfastness and reliability, for no matter how bleak your situation may seem, no matter how many problems you have, the Sun will still rise in the morning.  All of these attributions, and more, are reflected in the Tarot card that bears the same name as our solitary star.

The light of the Sun is about halfway between that embodied on the Tower and that shown on the Star.  It is not a blinding flash of power but neither is it a subtle glow.  It is hot enough to warm but generally not enough to burn. This moderation between extremes is the goal of the spiritual traveler, first shown on Temperance, now entered into full manifestation for us all to see. In this higher state, nothing is beyond your control.  In the Rider-Waite deck a powerful symbol illustrates this.  The sunfowers in the garden are not turned towards the Sun, as they normally are, but to the child on the horse. He is the one who now holds power over the material world.

The great ordeal of the Moon has passed, and you have emerged into the light, stronger and wiser.  War has ended and made way for peace; hatred is replaced by love; fear is overcome by courage.  This is truly a time to celebrate! Good triumphing so powerfully over evil is not an everyday occurence in this world, and when it does happen you should be glad that a little more light has entered your life.  The rising of the Sun is akin to the completion of the tasks and trials of the night, and the warmth it provides is the reward for not cowering in fear at the darkness, not running away given the chance, and not trying to hide from the wisdom that is rightfully yours.

As a sign of reliability, there is nothing more powerful than the Sun, since no force on Earth (or anywhere else for that matter) can stop the Sun from rising in the morning.  In a world of chaos, it is a still point of silence and calm, an assurance that there is some underlying order, some higher power that chooses to bless us and smile upon us each day.  Even when clouds fill the sky the Sun is still there, waiting for an opportunity to break through the dark barrier and shine its light for us.  Know that in every challenge there is an opportunity, and behind every cloud sits a sun waiting for its chance to be revealed to all.

In a reading the Sun can take on many meanings, though the most predominant one is that of success and completion.  It can be a herald of joy, happiness, the birth of a child, a stable family, material prosperity or almost any other end that is positive - but above all it shows completion.  One cycle is over and, before the next begins, there is a period of light and relaxation that you can and should properly enjoy.  Success comes if you are confident and bold in the use of your creative energy.  Glow with the vitality of the Sun whose light is umatched and whose power is absolute.

Such power and clarity are within everyone's grasp, including yours, if you let the light of the Sun illuminate you.  If there are areas of darkness lurking inside you, the Sun's rays will expose them so you can integrate them into yourself.  Fogs of confusion are burned away with the Sun's fiery sword, and its flames drive away fear and all the terrors of the night.  A seemingly hopeless situation will be hopeless no more once the Sun shines down upon the true path, the correct solution.  When the Sun appears, let its power amaze and overwhelm you.  But do not simply watch - reach up to grasp it, draw its power into yourself. The power of the Sun is true power indeed.

Future: The star

Whenever all hope seems lost, it will reappear to prove that you have really lost nothing, except perhaps your sight of the path to enlightenment.  And in the absence of that sight, the Star will light your way.  Its light is not a blinding flash like the lightning bolt of the Tower, but a soft radiating glow that warms and comforts, rather than burning and destroying.  You must remember that both of these energies ultimately come from the same place in the sky - from Heaven.  After the light of the Tower destroys the false path you were following, the kinder and gentler light of the Star will lead you back to the right path.

In terms of symbolism this card is similar to Temperance; there is a figure by a pool with two cups.  But while the contents of the Cups were mixed with each other in Temperance, here they are mixed with the waters of the eternal spirit of the Divine.  When you cannot help yourself, the Star tells you to look to the heavens for guidance.  Or, more appropriately, look to the spark of divinity that lies within yourself that you could not see or acknowledge before. Each of us has a little piece of the Star deep inside, waiting to cast its light into the world to light the way.  This is what Crowley meant when he affirmed that "every man and every woman is a star."

The Star is a card of faith, both in your own power, and in powers greater than your own.  When the Tower sweeps away all the negativity in your life, you once again need something to fill the void, and faith is a good place to start.  What exactly is faith?  It could be said that faith is a conscious belief in an unconscious experience, of which we may not be directly aware, but of which we can still feel the effects.  This definition fits both belief in a deity and belief in your own abilities.  Having faith in any power will allow that power to manifest in your life.  Beleiving that something will happen is as sure a way as any to make it happen.

There is a lot of meditative imagery on almost all renditions of the Star, though the most interesting symbol on the Rider-Waite version of the card is the pool of water at the center of the scene.  On some decks the naked woman is standing in the pool, but in the Rider-Waite version she kneels beside it. Notice that her right foot rests on the water but does not break the surface. Once faith is placed in its power, the pool of the subconscious becomes able to support the conscious mind.  The miraculous ability to walk on water is symbolically translated here into the ability to trust in another power, whether in the heavens or in yourself.  Once that trust is achieved, anything is possible.

There are few cards more positive than the Star, because when it appears in your life it is nothing less than a beacon of hope and inspiration.  In times of darkness it shows that there is a way out, and tells you not to worry, for illumination and freedom are at hand.  All you need is something in which to place your faith.  So trust in yourself, and in whatever powers you believe control the universe, to help you through difficult times.  Let the infinite energy of the Star warm you and rejuvenate your soul, to provide the strength and the clarity of purpose you need to continue on your journey.

It is important to keep in mind, however, that the Star is never a card that shows the final solution to any problem.  It simply shows the hope and faith to get to wherever you're going; without hope we can accomplish nothing, but hope is only a beginning.  Now that you have been inspired, you still have much work to do in order to bring your vision into manifestation.  You must combine the solidity of material existence with the waters of your emotions and of your spirit.  This is a time when miracles can happen, so kick off your shoes and wade into the pool, confident that the water will support you until you reach the other side.

meanings

[keptin-indy]

Exalted: Saigoth Gates 25

The circle somehow doesn’t kill Ma-Ha-Suchi.  Hilariously, in-character we never figured out why he was so nice to Mazatl.  West finally achieves his dream of having an airship!  And then gets into a tiff with his best friend :(

Previous installments

Krait proposed a strange scheme involving a spell of his own design that would create a tidal wave out of the section of ocean he’d set with mines.  He also requested to be given command over the forces from Ysyr, which was not something the circle could grant, as Ysyr was merely an ally and was not under anyone’s command.  Ardor nevertheless stationed him where he wanted the wave to end up and recommended Ysyr’s forces stay nearby, which they agreed to.  At sunset, a pounding on the Gates began and the assembled forces watched with trepidation as the doors opened and the column of light from the previous attempt sprang up again.  The statues resumed lowering the city until it touched the water, flaring the column into blinding brightness, visible from all over Creation.  Inside the column, they could vaguely make out the shapes of creatures ranging from less than human-sized to as big as the Penitent.  The indescribable creatures began to materialize, the smaller ones adapting to their new plane of existence readily and leaping into the fray while the larger ones seemed disoriented by the new environment.  Ardor’s troops charged, holding the creatures at bay until the larger ones eventually gained their bearings and starting to bring unimaginable force to bear.  Krait loosed his explosive tidal wave, but then turned his Mists of Eventide against the Ys sorcerers, controlling them and ordering them to free both slaves and demons (with the caveat that the demons must first ferry the slaves to shore and then were forbidden from hurting any humans).  Ardor evacuated the remaining two thirds of her army through the mist dome and over to the coast to guard the refugees should the creatures break through the mist.  She chose a lieutenant from Volivat to lead the human portion of the army in her absence while Swan Dragon retained command of the spirits.  Krait ferried the sleeping sorcerers to shore and left them notes urging them to reconsider their use of slaves and bound demons if they hadn’t enjoyed being compelled to do things against their will by a stronger sorcerer, thus ruining the alliance with Ysyr.  After some logistics discussions - made more difficult by the unbound but strangely non-lethal demons causing absolute chaos everywhere, - the civilian refugees were loaded into all available boats and sent along to Prasad, guarded by elementals, so they would both have somewhere safe to stay and motivate the Prasadi forces to take the threat of the Never Was seriously.  Due to lack of room and less surety of a welcome in Prasad, the army would have to march there overland, a journey of several months.

After riding the whirlwind to Ydanna, West summoned a Spirit of Swift-Winged Transportation, a huge construct of wings and claws, to pick up Tenepeshu’s Vengeance and carry the circle north by air.  Their first major stop was the Nameless Lair of Ma-Ha-Suchi, as the only way to move large numbers of troops to the Dreaming Sea region was through the infamous Lunar’s domain.  Krait was aware of Ma-Ha-Suchi’s immense age and unpredictable temper, but West argued that, as far as Lunar Anathema went, he was quite stable and reasonable, since he’d kept up an economically viable trade station instead of murdering villages like most.  Along the way, Krait asked Naran to help him draw up contracts for his personal bound demons, who he intended to free and offer paid employment should they choose to stay with him.  He offered the agata regular tales written about its glory, the nanneke one rare tome a month to devour, and both it and the tomescu positions of power in his planned Wyld-created city, along with the promise that he would investigate freeing them from Malfeas by making them Creation-aspected spirits.  Once at the Nameless Lair, the ship set down in the nearest lake and awaited the approaching delegation of finely-liveried goat- and wolf-men.  Naran announced their mission and their identities as Solars, which prompted cruelly expectant smiles from the beastmen, but they nevertheless went to announce the arrival to their lord.  They returned with an invitation to “have them for dinner” which did not go unnoticed by the circle, but they didn’t feel that they had any other choices if they wanted to treat with the Lunar.  The circle was lead through the mouldering remains of what had once been a fine palace, the ravages of time and swamp obviously helped along by its owner’s destructive fits.  Krait noticed a pattern of beauty and mementos of the past being destroyed, and advised his companions to try and avoid these characteristics, which threw the inordinately attractive party for a loop.  In the grand feast hall, Ma-Ha-Suchi sat enthroned at the head of what had once been a sumptuous banquet table.  The demonic goat-wolf-man looked as smug as someone who thought he had tricked Solars onto his dinner plate, but that changed to confused recognition when he saw Mazatl.  Ardor nudged the confused Zenith forward to talk, seizing on the opportunity to make Ma-Ha-Suchi listen.  Mazatl presented the situation and begged his aid, which amused the Lunar, but placated him enough to request his cook make something else for the main course, which turned out to be an entirely passable boar stew.  Mazatl continued during the meal, outlining the Solars’ plan to bring troops to the Dreaming Sea to fight the Never Was.  Ma-Ha-Suchi asked what they offered in return for safe passage, but refused to help directly.  He offered the group rooms for the night to discuss their terms and would check back with them in the morning.  The circle was shown to a suite specifically intended for a visiting First Age Solar circle, with five rooms marked by caste branching off of a central common room.  West announced his intention to bunk with both Naran and Shashaka so Krait could have the Twilight room and retired to start the night off right with the Eclipse.  However, not long after dinner, the group heard human scream and animalistic howls from outside.  After determining that it wasn’t coming from the Vengeance’s crew, discussion ensued about balancing a few lives against the possibility of offending their host enough to close his domain to passing armies, thus potentially endangering all of Creation.  Ardor sat at the window and began to sing a sad song aimed at taking the pleasure out of the hunt, but she was unaware that this was Ma-Ha-Suchi’s way of cheering himself up after making nice with the pretty Solars instead of killing them all, and her efforts prompted him to release dozens of captives to murder all at once instead of leisurely hunting one at a time.  Chastised by this violent failure, Ardor stopped singing.  During this tense observance, Shashaka expended her Essence to listen more attentively, causing her caste mark to glow...or perhaps do the opposite.  Her caste mark now appeared black, likely due to Five Days Darkness’ influence, but looking much the same as the Death Knight she and West had run from at Thorns.  West responded badly to this, accusing his best friend of becoming one of them and spending the rest of the night with Naran, the first time since they’d met that he willingly spent the whole night with someone other than Shashaka.

[purgatoryfallenangel]

Hi! I hope your readings are still free? I've been dying to know if my crush Mujaahid A. Still likes me? It's those types of crushes that just won't go way 🙄 Also, I would like to know if I should talk to him? And does he like anyone else other than me? Thanks 💛

Yes they are still free! they just take me a bit to do since there’s a lot of detail in them (which is why I’ve thought of doing some paid one’s. it takes a lot out of me doing 12+ 3 or more card readings like i normally end up doing once i get rolling and get people asking for readings lol)

CLICK THE COPYRIGHT INFO AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH CARD FOR A LINK TO THE SITE IT CAME FROM

I hardly had to do any work with you’re reading lol, my deck kept flipping cards for you on its own.

Does he still like you

The Sun symbolizes many things depending on how you look at it. The ancients saw the sun as the giver of life and light, and almost every polytheistic faith has a Sun God. It brings light and clarity after a period of darkness and confusion, and in this sense the Sun God is often a redeemer as well; a bringer of peace and good times after ordeals. Finally, the Sun is a symbol of steadfastness and reliability, for no matter how bleak your situation may seem, no matter how many problems you have, the Sun will still rise in the morning. All of these attributions, and more, are reflected in the Tarot card that bears the same name as our solitary star.

The light of the Sun is about halfway between that embodied on the Tower  and that shown on the Star. It is not a blinding flash of power but neither is it a subtle glow. It is hot enough to warm but generally not enough to burn. This moderation between extremes is the goal of the spiritual traveler, first shown on Temperance, now entered into full manifestation for us all to see. In this higher state, nothing is beyond your control. In the Rider-Waite deck a powerful symbol illustrates this. The sunfowers in the garden are not turned towards the Sun, as they normally are, but to the child on the horse. He is the one who now holds power over the material world.

The great ordeal of the Moon has passed, and you have emerged into the light, stronger and wiser. War has ended and made way for peace; hatred is replaced by love; fear is overcome by courage. This is truly a time to celebrate! Good triumphing so powerfully over evil is not an everyday occurence in this world, and when it does happen you should be glad that a little more light has entered your life. The rising of the Sun is akin to the completion of the tasks and trials of the night, and the warmth it provides is the reward for not cowering in fear at the darkness, not running away given the chance, and not trying to hide from the wisdom that is rightfully yours.

As a sign of reliability, there is nothing more powerful than the Sun, since no force on Earth (or anywhere else for that matter) can stop the Sun from rising in the morning. In a world of chaos, it is a still point of silence and calm, an assurance that there is some underlying order, some higher power that chooses to bless us and smile upon us each day. Even when clouds fill the sky the Sun is still there, waiting for an opportunity to break through the dark barrier and shine its light for us. Know that in every challenge there is an opportunity, and behind every cloud sits a sun waiting for its chance to be revealed to all.

In a reading the Sun can take on many meanings, though the most predominant one is that of success and completion. It can be a herald of joy, happiness, the birth of a child, a stable family, material prosperity or almost any other end that is positive - but above all it shows completion. One cycle is over and, before the next begins, there is a period of light and relaxation that you can and should properly enjoy. Success comes if you are confident and bold in the use of your creative energy. Glow with the vitality of the Sun whose light is umatched and whose power is absolute.

Such power and clarity are within everyone's grasp, including yours, if you let the light of the Sun illuminate you. If there are areas of darkness lurking inside you, the Sun's rays will expose them so you can integrate them into yourself. Fogs of confusion are burned away with the Sun's fiery sword, and its flames drive away fear and all the terrors of the night. A seemingly hopeless situation will be hopeless no more once the Sun shines down upon the true path, the correct solution. When the Sun appears, let its power amaze and overwhelm you. But do not simply watch - reach up to grasp it, draw its power into yourself. The power of the Sun is true power indeed.

This page was made by James Rioux (The Black Shadow), bshadow@nbnet.nb.ca.Copyright 2000 James Rioux.

Should you try talking to him

The Seven of Cups often appears when a difficult choice must be made, and the image on most versions of the card reflects that. The seven cups are filled with strange and wonderful gifts... but there is always danger hidden within one or two of them to sting anyone who ventures near. Lying amidst the gems and the wreath of victory are a snake and a dragon. Sometimes you have to choose between many options, all of which may be tempting but only one of which is the best choice. At others times not all of those choices are real options at all; they are delusions of the imagination.

This card generally shows choices and plans that have little or no basis in reality. Such things are typical of the developed imagination, and fine if they stay in the imagination. But when you try to implement those ideas in the real world you are leaving yourself open to inevitable disappointment when you realize that your vision simply does not work. The fortress has no foundation and it will fall with the first enemy attack. Some attainment is indeed possible, but like the sword of Damocles, the inevitability of defeat lingers over your head, waiting to drop and shatter all those castles you have built in the clouds.

Temptation is another theme of this card, and with so many choices presented it would be easy to be swayed to that cup containing the snake of jealously and cunning. Since this card is of the Cups suit we get all the sexual and emotional connotations of temptation; the one-night stand, the extramarital affair, and all those other things that seem innocent and pleasurable at the time they are undertaken. But in the vast majority of cases, the pleasure gained temporarily is far outweighed by the consequences that last, in most cases, for an entire lifetime.

In short, the Seven of Cups is a sign to be vigilant in everyday life. Be on guard against temptation, and before taking any offers be aware of all the potential ramifications. Keep a close eye on your dreams so that they do not get too farfetched and fantastic. When faced with many choices, all of which seem equally attractive, turn to your intuition for guidance. If you still don't know which to take, it might be safer to not take any of them at all! Better to leave the gems than plunge one's hand into a cup full of snakes. If your ethics are questioned, do not go against them, but stand true to your beliefs. Keep your feet on the ground, and your head out of the clouds.

This page was made by James Rioux (The Black Shadow), bshadow@nbnet.nb.ca.Copyright 2000 James Rioux.

Does he like anybody other than you

The High Priestess is arguably the most difficult of the Major Arcana to qualify with words alone, because so much of her power and ability is veiled in mystery that it is difficult for anyone to fathom it all. Every card in the Tarot speaks differently to everyone, but the Priestess seems to bear the widest range of interpretations, because she speaks directly to the Inner Voice, the unconscious mind. She is the manifestation of the unconscious and the effects of the mysterious in our everyday world. Trying to see how such mysteries work often defeats their purpose, and with this in mind, the High Priestess will be explained in as much detail as possible.

She is, above all else, the base of potential that is the source of the power wielded by the Magician. She is the unlimited potential that allows him to transform and create whatever his Will desires. Understanding this type of balance, as found between potential and creation, masculine and feminine, is the key to unlocking some of the mysteries of the High Priestess. We see the clear progression of the theme of balance; instead of integrating opposites, the Priestess keeps them separate and keeps them in balance nonetheles. She herself is the scales; this symbolism is found in many Tarot decks. Without this balance there can be no power.

The second symbolic motif found in almost all instances of the High Preistess are symbols of the unconscious mind. On the Rider-Waite version this motif is especially prominent, but most decks feature at least some lunar imagery that in turn has ties to the unconscious. Most decks that have the "twin pillars" symbology also depict a veil strung between those pillars; the High Priestess stands between us and that veil as a moderator. Behind the veil lies the powers of the unconscious, which we cannot start to understand but which, through her, we can learn to control. She is the gateway to realms that we may never fully comprehend or master.

While it would be impossible for anyone to learn all of her mysteries and secrets, the High Priestess remains as a guide to those of us willing to venture deep within our minds to discover the true powers hidden deep inside each of us. This is the same power as that depicted on the Magician, but the scope of the Priestess' power is far different. While the Magician focuses his powers outward, to achieve a meaningful effect on the world, the High Priestess shows us that we can also use these powers on an inner level, to enrich and transform ourselves. Such transformations are certainly not as dramatic as the Magician's, but they are almost always more powerful.

The High Priestess represents the mysteries of the unconscious and the Inner Voice, and her appearance is often a sign that your own intuition is trying to send you a message. The unconscious often speaks to us in symbols, so be alert around you for anything that seems out of the ordinary. This said, if you have an important decision to make when the Priestess appears, this is often a sign that the answers will be revealed to you, if you are patient and open to the whispers from within. You simply have to wait and be receptive to inner messages. Her lesson is that everything you need to know already exists within you.

The theme of dualism in the High Preistess cannot be avoided either. She is often a sign of the Shadow, the negative portion of your personality that no one sees, and that you yourself could be unaware of. (In this sense, the term 'negative' does not refer to evil, just the opposite polarity from the positive and expressive part of your personality.) If you accept the Shadow within you, its powers will be open to you if you wish to use them. In most people the Shadow side is the more passive of the two, and the Priestess can therefore advocate a need for passivity in a situation. It is not always necessary to act; sometimes goals can be realized through inaction.

This page was made by James Rioux (The Black Shadow), bshadow@nbnet.nb.ca.Copyright 2000 James Rioux.

Extra card my deck flipped.

Sometimes, when accepted and welcomed, divine wisdom and enlightenment flow freely like a calm river. The rest of the time, wisdom is blocked until it rages forth like a tidal wave and crushes anything in its path, including the recipient of the wisdom. This is the energy of the Tower card, an energy very similar to Death in that it is both a destructive and a creative force. When a building is old and decrepit, it must be demolished so that a new structure may stand in its place. The same is true of the symbolic Tower. When old attitudes and beliefs are outdated, you will have to let go of them, whether you like it or not. (Harsh but true lol)

In most cases, the latter is true - you do not want to give up your ideals, and you cling to them like a child to his precious security blanket. This attempt at security ensures nothing, really, except a disastrous change that will painfully rip away that which you did not discard of your own volition. But there is a greater purpose at work here. The power of the soul and the mind is far greater than the energy of some physical thing, and it can be taken with you anywhere and always. To extend the security blanket analogy, the blanket must be taken away so the child can find power and security within himself, instead of within some material object.

When you believe material objects are more powerful than spirit and mind, you start building up a Tower of falsehoods on a very unstable foundation. If, by some miracle of engineering, it does not collapse under its own weight, you will eventually push it over yourself. The Tower falls not because Fate says so but because something within can no longer endure the strain it must bear. Sooner or later it will give out. This is a humbling experience because its lesson is that no one is invincible. The problem for most people is that they concentrate on the negatives and ignore the great opportunity that has been given to them.

The fire of the Tower card burns away all that is negative and outdated, but it leaves behind all that is positive, all that is necessary to begin your life again and replace all that was lost. In essence, this is the energy of Death and Temperance combined, because sweeping-away and building-up both happen at about the same time on the Tower. As soon as the tumbling figures on the Rider-Waite card land on the jagged rocks of reality, they are greeted with the influx of wisdom that they need to survive. And with that wisdom in hand, they can take the first step back on the true path to enlightenment: building a mental Tower to Heaven rather than a physical one.

When wisdom must be forced upon you, or when ignorance must be taken away, the Tower will appear to let you prepare yourself. If you choose to let go of what you no longer need, and accept what you do need, things will go much more smoothly and without frustration. If you ignore the warning of the Tower, however, and cling to the status quo, be prpared for a downfall. You have been oversleeping and this is your spiritual wake-up call. When the Tower is in the area, know that anything that seems secure could not really be safe at all. If a change is destined to happen, to not try to fight it, because all change happens because it is needed.

On an inner level, the destruction of Tower is akin to the breaking-down of the fortress called the ego. When you build a wall to hide your secrets or to conceal your true self, you must know that sooner or later the wall will come tumbling down. Fantasies are particularly prone to being shattered by the power of this card; the Tower dissipates them like sunlight burning away fog. Fantasies and daydreams will not help where you are going so it is best to let go of them now. Do not place your faith in illusions of security; the crown on this card must be worn on by a human head, not placed atop a tower of cold stone.

This page was made by James Rioux (The Black Shadow), bshadow@nbnet.nb.ca.

Copyright 2000 James Rioux.

Summary

Seems that overall the situation between you two will end alright for both of you, good or bad outcome you’ll both be fine, so really its up to you if you want to peruse a friendship OR to further the relationship. Since as the seven of cups points out, this path you are headed down is all about choice. it all comes down to making decisions. That goes for both of you. It’s not a one way street it take the two of you coming to an agreement to make things work, or to further them along. At the least they seem to enjoy your company as a friend, so it may still be e benefit for you both to continue on talking and built up a platonic friendship even if nothing romantic comes of it. While romance is nice having someone who loves you that you can rely on, without the pressures of a relationship/sexual interaction. Is a very nice and healthy feeling.

As the Priestess mentions. Everything needs balance. So once again you are being both told, and warned that the outcome of this situation is very hit and miss in places. There’s no way to tell what way it will go unless you act, even if there’s a chance for a negative outcome you have no way of knowing unless you take that risk and go for it. If he doesn’t return your feelings, then hopefully at the least he can continue to be a friend, and maybe he’ll change his mind at a later date. But he also may not. What happens relies on you both to be able to flow well together. Without balance and compromise no relationship, no matter what type, is going to work between you two.

ALL these cards all seem to be referencing the Tower. Not that it’s “bad” but, in a nutshell shit is about to hit the fan, and while the outcome will help you in leading yourself down a better path and clearing out past negativity, It may not be very fun. This COULD either mean this relationship will bring out a lot of things form both of your pasts, and bringing to light things both of you need to mend in your souls. Which could lead to better things for you both, or it may also be a negative experience. Could trigger some bad soul memory that causes you two to drift apart, which by default will likely lead you onward to better things after living through it. But what path this will go can vary and all the cards reference balance and choice. So it seems that what path you take is completely up to you to decide. This is your story, your decision. Imagine it like the “choose your own ending books” the path you choose will decide which ending you get

Forthose who don’t know, I’m doing Shufflemancy, Tarot, Pendulum, and ArchangelOracle card readings. I have the Michael and Gabriel Archangel cards, so if youhave any questions for them feel free to ask. Other rules and guidelines are HERE