Aspen
5:20 pm
I signaled Lux and Lady Zen to activate the barrier. In sync, they spoke the barrier incantation. "Thesh'karis Oph'reth Mal'ethera. Callesh Thesh'karis Enkai'lith. Callesh Kael'thar Thesh'kar Myrrith. (Ward this rite from all corruption. We invoke a ward of sanctification. We invoke strength and protection for this astral travel.)
They must have been practicing together to be that synchronized. I guess Lux wasn't always just flirting during their video calls or when he would spend an hour with her when she came to visit Moonbeam.
As it should, a dome-shaped barrier encompassed the ritual circles of each ring. Lux and Lady Zen would keep chanting until Moonbeam returned. Their ritual robes, like those of everyone actively participating in and guarding the hall, have been enchanted to boost endurance and vitality for the next 72 hours. If Moonbeam isn't there and back within 72 hours, this ritual will turn into an all-out rescue mission.
Uncle Cor and I waited a full minute for the barrier to fully stabilize and our guardians to fall into perfect harmony and rhythm before initiating the next phase. With gloved hands, I tapped my dazed sister's cheek to gain her attention. She had been watching the light show the barrier created with childlike amazement.
She turned her head towards me with a dopey smile. "What's up, buttercup?" Her tone was so carefree and silly I almost lost focus. I tapped her cheek again. "It is time for you to show off. Begin the spell to send you on your way. Be as safe as possible. We'll see you when you get back."
I thought I wouldn't have tears in this moment. I thought I could be mature and not wish with every fiber of my being that I did not have to send my sister into the void with nothing but a bridge to get her to a halfway point. From there, only Azrail will be following her conscious soul, and even he won't be able to go all the way to the convergence spot.
She will have to do the last leg of the journey alone, start the memory transfer alone, and come part of the way back alone. I declare now, to any Creator god listening and watching. If there isn't a purpose to all of this, I'm coming for you. Some way, somehow, I will figure out how to tear open a hole in reality, and I will rain chaos down upon your divine souls.
For a second in time, I would swear I felt an amused, approving gaze upon me. My soul knew my words were acknowledged, but my mind was having trouble wrapping around the possibility that the Creators were actually paying attention to our ritual.
In the next second, the world unpaused, and Moonbeam began to sing. It was not the spell we taught her. It was so beautiful that we all watched in amazement as she once again showed us a side of her we didn't know existed.
"Li'thorin Ascarym Sha'valaneth. Crae'thar Myrrith. Na'loren Veth'kai. Dralith Sha'valaneth Luskai. (Reveal the ascending passage. I walk in dreams. Guide me to the echo between us. Let the dream begin.)"
Uncle Cor did not let Nyx distract him. Using an athame, he began to bleed her fingertips and positioned her hands over the side of the bed. The moment the blood touched the floor, the bed reacted. It shifted into a reclining bed-like chair. With each drop of blood, the bed shifted to encase her completely in a nest of branches.
Uncle Cor and I could still see and touch her if needed, but we let the bed work. It was connecting Nyx to the circle through her essence-infused blood. The connection will help facilitate the memory integration phase. When Nyx had sung the spell for the third time, it was my role's turn.
I wrote glyphs in the air to activate the psychic astral bridge we had created earlier in the day. Nyx will use this bridge to send her to the Liminal Plane, formally known as the Threshold Expanse. From there, the pagoda we had been constructing on that astral plane for her use will allow her to relatively travel safely to the shared dream plane. The actual navigation will be in her hands.
Right before Nyx sang the spell for the ninth time, she gave Uncle Cor and me a little wave and wink. I leaned over to kiss her forehead. This was the last protection for her mind I could provide. Uncle Cor, with watery pink eyes, winked back as he tapped her chest to give her a push out of her body. Then her conscious soul began its journey across the bridge. Once across, Azrail will guide her to enter the pagoda.
I raised my hand to signal that she had safely begun her journey. Collectively, we relaxed a fraction. Phase one complete. I took a moment to glance at Azrail, who gave me an okay gesture. Acknowledging that Moonbeam was still okay, I signaled Korran to activate the installed programs for the aether mote vial system for the incoming memories and the assimilation channels for the memory integration phase. The mechanism needs to be primed because we will be using massive amounts of essence to operate this ritual safely.
Can't simply turn on the switch when she begins transmission. Have to be ready before to minimize the strain this could have on her soul. As an Ember tier cultivator, her soul is not really strong enough for what we are asking of it, so we have to have safeguards in place to support it. I don't want her soul to fragment at any point.
Thankfully, with Lady Zen Salgrave's assistance, we integrated technology into this ritual as optimally as possible. When the bed shifted, it revealed what we built beneath it. Rows upon rows of assimilation channels that Korran and Uncle Cor will manage. When the integration phase begins, the closest rows will be integrated first, then be assimilated outward.
We have created the safest way for Nyx to do the impossible and remain whole doing it, so now we wait for the memories to be transmitted. I let out a sigh and gave myself a quick internal check. I hadn't noticed it at first, but I could feel a strain on the Tharym bond. It was stretching uncomfortably. A deeper examination of the bond showed that everyone in the bond must feel it.
We had used the bond as one of her anchors to facilitate her return, so this strain is within expectations, even if I hadn't processed what it would actually feel like. I expected the stretch to reach an equilibrium once she left the Threshold Expanse and traveled to the dream planes, also known as the Somnus Veil.
What I couldn't have known was that Elias, a dragon shifter, and a demon, all felt Moonbeam's ascent as needles pressing into their cores.
____________
Elias was prepared to have some kind of reaction since he knew she was going to travel the astral. He rubbed his chest as he patrolled with Taen. The moment he felt like his heart core was being stabbed with a needle, he knew what was going to happen. Unfortunately, he was oath-bound so he couldn't speak to anyone not involved in the ritual about it.
He didn't answer Jasper's call when it came in. What he did do was text him that Nyx was fine and he should probably go into isolation for the next two to three days. Jasper was not happy that Elias would not explain. He was downright pissed when he was told if he or anyone of his clan's spies in the Ajei Palace Complex started asking questions, it would be a one-way ticket to starting a war.
He knows me too well.
Jasper read between the lines. Whatever ritual the Ajei had been preparing for was being done right now and any interference would be met with absolute violence.
So when his third eye core's pain increased, he took Elias's advice. Jasper got his affairs in order and told his family he was going into seclusion early. He knew if he stayed in the capital to weather the pain of his curse and his fated mate doing something no one would tell him about, he would start an avoidable war.
Patience. We must have patience, old friend. The chase hasn't even begun. The wait will make claiming her all the sweeter. In time, there will be nothing I don't know when it comes to her.
In an apartment in Xi Clan territory, Koba was lying on the floor clutching his chest. He was not prepared to have his heart core feeling like someone was putting a tattoo on it. He tried to breathe. That hurt. He tried to move. That really hurt. Finally, he just laid there under the light of the full moons wondering, if Nyx had finally decided to curse him. For hours, he lay there.
When he woke up, he was in his bed, and Noxton was doing paperwork at his desk. He turned onto his side, noted the fact it was still dark out, but wasn't sure if that meant it was still the same night. "I don't know how long you were on the floor before I got home, but it's been five hours since I put you in bed, ti frè (little brother)."
"10 hours then. I suddenly felt like my heart core was being stabbed with needles. I guess my body decided I was better off unconscious." Koba muttered, his violet eyes flashing gold. Noxton didn't stop his task when he responded. "I checked you. There is no evidence of an attack or curse. Based on what you just said, I would guess something happened to someone you have a connection with."
Noxton finished his paperwork, then turned to face Koba. "Tell me, ti frè, who have you made a connection with so strong that it affects you remotely?"