“Thank you… I will keep it,” Miranda softly kissed Luna on the neck.
“I barely know who I am… so I have no idea who will I be if and when I walk out of that cell. Nobody does. All I know is that James named me Lunariel Laen’Ash and gave me this sword,” Luna flicked her wrist and a long elegant sword appeared.
“I don’t know why James had it, why he gave it to me or why does the sword accept me as its owner. But I do know its name is Nightweaver; it was the sword of the Immortal King himself. And that’s it. That’s all that I am. I am sorry… sorry to put this on you but you deserve to know,” Luna kept weeping silently among the words.
“Oh, come on, you little puppy… you keep talking like this is the last time we see each other. I will come see you every day, it will be alright,” Miranda whispered into her ear.
“That’s the thing. I love you. I love you so much that I can’t stand the idea of you seeing me down there. Seeing me suffer. I... I can’t do that to you. Please promise me you will never come to that cell after I’m put in.”
“There is no fucking way I am just leaving you in there alone,” Miranda refused.
“Please, Miranda… I just can’t live with the idea of doing that to you. Please promise me you won’t come,” Luna insisted.
“No. Nobody should suffer alone… especially not you.”
“Please… I beg you… do this for me… please.”
“Oh, fuck this fucking shit. FINE! I promise I won’t come after you are put into it. Happy?” Miranda conceded.
Luna grabbed her, pushed her down and kissed her.
“Thank you… you have no idea how much this means to me,” she said as she buried her head in Miranda’s chest and was crying even stronger.
“There, there… it will be alright,” Miranda held her head and stroked it awkwardly.
“Just know…Miranda… I love you… no matter who… who will I be… when it’s done… I will still love you.”
They sat in silence for a long while, then walked to the cell.
“Ready?” Elias asked as they stepped into the metal capsule. There were runes carved all over its insides.
“Got a spot where I can carve something myself?” Miranda asked as she examined the cell. Luna just stood there, staring at her bare feet. They were freezing. The metal was cold, harsh and biting into her skin like it was made of sharp spikes. She felt so vulnerable, so weak.
“Here,” Elias pointed her.
Miranda walked there, drew her dagger, cut herself and used the bloodied dagger to carve a symbol into the wall. Oval for a face with four large horns. Symbol of the Faceless Goddess. She surrounded it with runes. “Good,” she said once she was done.
“Can we proceed?” Elias asked softly as he turned to Luna. Luna threw off the coat and went to put herself into the holds on the floor. Her neck went into the large shackle at the center and arms into rings by the sides. Elias slid down under the metal grid and caught her legs inside the heavy shackles. She could move them only for a few inches. Elias climbed back up and put a metal object inside her mouth; it made it imposible for her to close her mouth.
Is this where I’m going to die? I always imagined my death would be more meaningful… more epic. Definitely not a failed ritual. Then again, this metal capsule sealed inside a ship would a fitting end for a monster like me. Is this the last time I see Miranda? What if I lose my memory during the ritual? What if I survive the ritual, but she dies in the meantime? Will I walk out of here only to put flowers on her grave?
“Just one more thing,” Miranda added and slid down the ladder as well. . She wet her dagger in her own blood and rammed it into Luna’s heart. Luna shouted in pain and horror. Miranda knew it wouldn’t kill her, but it did force her to focus all her regeneration into her heart. She pulled another dagger and a pouch of black powder. Slowly and meticulously, Miranda cut out pieces of skin from Luna’s back and replaced it with black powder so it couldn’t regenerate. Luna cried and screamed, but Miranda didn’t hurry. When she was done, Luna had a large symbol of the Faceless Goddess tattoed into her back. “Good luck,” she whispered, pulled the dagger out of Luna’s heart, teleported up to the grid and left the capsule.
I’m not gonna cry. I’m not gonna cry. I’m not gonna cry.
Luna broke down in tears.
Elias looked at her warmly.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked for the last time.
Luna wanted to nod but couldn’t move her head.
Elias spread his arms and water flew out of the barrel placed outside the capsule. It formed itself around Luna’s neck and wrists. It solidified into ice in an instant. It was almost six inches thick and filled the entire grid. The ice viciously clawed at Luna; the cold was quickly seeping into her.
Cold… so, so cold… cold as the grip of death.
“The cold shall help with the pain. I would like to say it’s not going to hurt, but I would be lying,” Elias ducked down above Luna. He touched Luna’s forehead with a finger and traced a magical symbol. Pulses of pain blasted through Luna’s body; they came from the symbol and reached every corner of her body. Weak pain at first, but it was getting stronger with every pulse. Luna braced herself for what was to come. Her vision started getting blurry, but she did see Elias leave the cell. Luna closed her eyes and tried to detach herself from the mounting pain. She couldn’t. There was nowhere to run inside her mind. The pain was everywhere.
Was that a step? Luna opened her eyes. Straight in front of her laid a shape that looked like a mattress covered by pelts.
No... No.. No. NO! NO!!
Gloved hands caught Luna by the sides of her skull. She felt what could only be a soft kiss at the top of her head.
Luna looked up; straight above her loomed the head of Miranda. The pain was so strong it made Luna’s vision blurry. It felt like a hundred daggers were trying to slice her to pieces at the same time. Miranda’s face came into focus, her red hair framing her eyes, two bright green shining stars.
“You… promised,” Luna squeezed out of herself with all she had. The pain was becoming insufferable. It felt like a sword was stabbed into every nerve of her body in every second. Miranda leaned down and whispered into her ear.
“I lied!”
6
Miranda
“Got anything?” Miranda jabbed at Elias sharply.
“The ritual is proceeding, but not as planned. We should have a breakthrough soon, however,” Elias said in a worried voice. They both knew it was a lie.
“Soon? You have been telling me that since nine months ago. Luna has been screaming in pain or unconscious for over a year. YEAR! THIS IS WORSE THAN BAD, ELIAS!” Miranda shouted.
“I know. I am sorry, there is nothing more I can do,” he conceded.
“I KNOW! I know… I know. I am trying to find something new… but I’m getting nowhere. I just… I don’t know what to do. She is dying, Elias! I can feel it. I know you feel it too,” Miranda breathed in despair.
“I am sorry. I am trying, but the procedure is not reversible. We must find the way forward,” Elias stated as resolutely as he managed.
“I… I know. I am sorry. I will keep trying to find something new,” Miranda rose from the table.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to go back there?” Elias pried before she left.
“I want to be there for her. I know it’s destroying me… but I can’t leave her alone. I am sorry, I know it makes it harder for you… but I just want to be with her for as long as I can… I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I weren’t with her until the end,” Miranda replied and left.
She headed straight for her room at the Palai barracks. She didn’t want to do this, but she was out of options. She was out of hope. She lied down into her bed, drank a sleeping potion, focused on the Palai amulet and whispered the code phrase before falling asleep:
“For my battle ends at dawn, the last dawn of my soul, the dawn of the thousand suns.”
&n
bsp; She woke up inside her dream pocket. She didn’t know how much time had passed since she fell asleep, but she had other matters to attend to. On a chair not far from her bed sat Lucas. His silvery hair was long and messy, he had an unarranged beard and his black leathery tunic was even more devastated than usual.
“You look like shit,” Miranda announced in a greeting.
“This is the first time in your over thirty years that you summon me. What happened?” Lucas asked calmly.
Miranda could feel his calm voice is forced. Lucas was tense. He was right though; the emergency summons to contact Lucas through the Dream World was a privilege she had never ever used. Not until now. “Luna’s ritual isn’t going as planned. Elias is stuck somewhere at the separation phase and can’t seem to get through. If nothing changes, she will die.”
“Where is she held for the ritual?” Lucas inquired.
“Elias’ ship, which is docked in Xona,” Miranda replied.
“Alright, I will look into it. I can’t promise a quick solution, but I will try,” Lucas smiled reassuringly, “anyway, have you found me the new archbishop?”
“I’ve got six candidates for you, they are all qualified by your requirements, so you will need to do the final pick by yourself,” Miranda replied.
“I’m not gonna come around Xona anytime soon, I suppose the Order would get outraged were I to have them roll dice for it or something like that,” Lucas mused.
“More than outraged. We can’t tell the conclave of bishops that they will have to wait for the selection of the new archbishop for another year,” Miranda contested.
“Meh, tell them that the great general shall name the archbishop after the Holy War to avenge the death of Archbishop Nashimaeal is done. The conclave is to lead the clergy until then. Actually, don’t tell them, write it up as a letter and fake my seal and signature on it,” Lucas ordered her. “And don’t bother pretending you aren’t prepared to make the fakes.”
“You really enjoy bossing me around, don’t you?” Miranda observed.
“Oh yes, I do. Anyway, I will go look for a way to solve Luna’s problem,” Lucas replied and rose.
“Thank you,” Miranda whispered. It calmed her down a little. She had no idea why, but she now felt better.
“Hmm?” Lucas looked at her; he couldn’t hear her.
“Nevermind.”
Miranda woke up in the morning and headed straight to temple of Alnil. There was a chance the library contains something which could help Luna. She hasn’t found it in past few hundreds of attempts, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there.
“Heavy heart?” a deep manly voice interrupted Miranda.
“The fuck?” she turned to see the man. The man was tall and largely built, he had wildly grown grey hair, a face of unidentifiable age and wore a simple Alnil priest robe. He carried a mop and a bucket.
“I’m here to clean the roof, I apologize for interrupting you,” he smiled warmly and went on to clean the roof.
“Why would you clean the roof?” Miranda asked softly. She felt worse than bad. The little conversation couldn’t hurt. No… anything that could take her mind off Luna for at least a few seconds would help.
"Many come here to seek a moment of peace. Least I can do is to make sure the roof isn’t too dirty or slippery,” he revealed.
Right… I am on the roof of the Alnil temple after all.
“I remember you… you are Zakuma, aren’t you? The priest from the library?” Miranda dug through her memories.
“I serve wherever I am needed. Pleasure to meet you lady… ?” he returned.
“Miranda. Not lady, just Miranda.”
“Have you found what that which you seek?” he asked gently.
“No. I went through the entire library here and didn’t find a damn useful thing,” Miranda admitted.
Nine months of searching… zero results. I am useless. Luna’s dying in pain I cannot even imagine and I can’t help her.
“What made you think it would be in the library?” he continued the conversation while diligently cleaning the roof.
Ah fuck it, why the hell not? I remember seeing him around since day one of me coming here. By the clothes, he is the lowest rank of Alnil priest there is.
“Foolish hope… I am searching for something that likely doesn’t exist and I’m just too stubborn to give up.”
“Motivation is not stubbornness. I remember seeing you spending entire days going through the books,” he smiled.
“It’s all just wasted time since I have nothing to show for it,” Miranda conceded.
“Humility is among the harshest of lessons.”
Here comes the religious bullshit… time to bitch off.
“I think I should go,” Miranda stood up and disappeared. She reappeared on a lower building near the temple. She didn’t even look back as she walked off. A crash sounded behind her. She turned around and saw Zakuma just landed behind her. She put her hands on her weapons. “What is this about?”
Who’s this guy? Priests aren’t supposed to be able to do fifty feet jumps.
“Before you go, would this mean anything to you?” Zakuma took out a piece of paper in his hand. Miranda stared at the symbol of the Faceless Goddess drawn upon it.
“What the fuck do you want?” Miranda asked and drew Scitalis.
“I had a vision last night. In it I saw this symbol and that I will find someone who needs my help on the temple roof today. You are the only one who showed up.”
He saw the Goddess? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? I need to seriously step up my prayers, because getting a miracle once could be a coincidence, but twice in two years is not. I might have been praying like mad for the past year, but I was not exactly a good follower before.
“Do you know anything about werewolves and rituals connected to them?” Miranda pried cautiously.
“A little,” he smiled warmly and walked to her.
“What does a little mean?” Miranda inquired.
“I had done some in the past.”
“Follow me,” she said and went on to lead him.
If you don’t feel like, I will break your legs and take you by force.
“With pleasure.”
She led him straight to the ship. “Tell Elias I got him an extra chaplain. Name’s Zakuma, he starts today and I don’t give a jack shit about him having the ship full, procedures or paperwork. I’m paying him from my budget,” Miranda shouted at a soldier as they arrived at the ship. The soldiers were too stunned to answer.
“I guess I should thank you for the new job,” Zakuma smiled.
Miranda led him into the ship.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…”
Was sounding softly from bellow. All soldiers had plugged ears. She didn’t blame them. It tore her soul like nothing ever did.
“It will be alright,” Zakuma put his hand on her shoulder. She didn’t recoil. She heard this line thousand times in past year. This was the first time she believed it. She stopped and closed her eyes to enjoy the moment and make a silent prayer.
Thank you. I know I haven’t been the best worshipper. I do admit I did think you are just made up bullshit for most of my life. I know we have had some… disagreements in the past and that I broke your code more than a few times. I know I don’t deserve this and I don’t know what to say or do. But I will never forget it. If ever you need me to do something, I will do it. Anything.
Miranda continued once she was done.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Luna’s wailing was getting louder and louder. Miranda led Zakuma all the way to the iron capsule where Luna was held. She tried to make an impassive face when she looked at him, but she knew she failed. Zakuma smiled warmly and turned to close the door of the capsule. He then kneeled in front of Luna and put a hand on her forehead. Half a minute later she stopped screaming.
“How did you do that?” Miranda breathed in amazement.
“I haven’t done
much; I merely put her to sleep. I am sorry to say this, Miranda, but I will need you to promise me something,” he turned to Miranda in a dead serious voice.
“Anything,” Miranda replied and meant it.
“As far as the world is concerned, I am a priest you brought here to pray for the peace of her soul. That’s it. All other information about me, what and how I do shall stay forever a secret between the two of us. Me and you, not her. You will not ask me about my past, my skills, my nature or anything else. Understand?” Zakuma revealed.
“I do and I promise. I swear by the Faceless Goddess that will not pry into you and keep any and all information about your secret for as long as I live.”
“I am sorry to have asked this of you.” he smiled, “please borrow me your dullest dagger.”
Miranda did.
Zakuma went on to the walls of the capsule and started making symbols among those Elias had. They were tiny changes, a comma here, apostrophe there, bracket over there and an underline elsewhere.
“I am impressed by how well the runic writing is done,” Zakuma started talking as he was carving. Miranda was watching in awe. It was like a soft dance where Zakuma weaved through the room and made his marks into the ones of Elias.
“He identified the correct ritual and executed it flawlessly. What he couldn’t have known is that her spirit requires a bit special treatment and well… some things aren’t written into books and are just passed down orally among the Alnil clergy,” he explained before he finished.
I have several questions. Like a hundred. It would be really bad to break my oath in the first ten minutes, wouldn’t it?
“I adjusted the carvings. The next step of the ritual should work when Elias tries it again tomorrow. There is no need to tell him anything. Am I correct to assume the beddings are yours?” he looked at the pelts and mattress.
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