text — un: starburst.

[valeas]

Not long after Yancai went back in time, I became convinced the two moons that steward the village were not real. I couldn't tell you where this feeling came from, beyond a connection I have to the celestial. 

I know I was not alone in my conviction.

It led Lan Wangji and myself to Storm's Sage — specifically, to a room that was filled with runes. It looked to me like it was once an observatory, except now it has a gaping hole in its ceiling that allows moonlight to shine down into a large bowl of water directly underneath it.

The magic exuding from the bowl did not register malicious to me, but it did seem constant, as though it could not and must not be interrupted. It also came with some fragments of memories, though they were disjointed and incoherent.

( To the best of her abilities, Emilia describes every fragment she was privy to. )

I realise how absurd this may sound, but it truly did feel as though the moon was in the room. In the water.

Comments

text; un: stormborn

[song_of_fire]

So this magic may be in part played by the moon?

[valeas]

They might have been making an offering to it. Some kind of blood magic.

un: ut malum pluvia | text

[somebadnews]

[ To say he's been wondering what the hell that was about since he got her last cryptic message is an understatement. He tries not to be too offended that she took Wangji to see it. Not her fault.

He's especially bothered by the last fragment she shares. A woman in white saying they need 'time'... ]

Did you recognize any of them?

[valeas]

No.
I thought I might catch a glimpse of Miang-Si, but no, though the woman in white must be the same one we've been learning of.

( She, too, is left disquieted by the last fragment. They've been to Ellethia, to Taravast, to places that have wanted to extend lifespans and do all manner of impossible things. But nothing that had meddled with time like this. )

[somebadnews]

[ He's all too familiar with her. ]

She's connected to her. There was evidence that she either sought out the woman in white, or she visited her.

Whatever she's meddling in, it sounds like she's only a catalyst.

[valeas]

( Emilia is in plain agreement with Five, at least where Miang-Si in concerned.

The rest ... she's still connecting the pieces to the rest. )

What is the connection, do you think? Between the woman in white and the Huntress?

[somebadnews]

[ Five doesn’t have all the answers he should, considering how many times he’s seen the woman in white, but he’s not it the habit of dropping things. ]

She must have something she needs. Miang-Si seems drawn to all of them, the ladies in the lake and the Huntress. Maybe they were looking for someone living to accomplish whatever they’re after.

[ Which would be time magic. He’s guessing. ]

[valeas]

With power as blinding as I felt, I can only imagine they succeeded.

I don't know of time the way you do, but I know a ritual when I see one. A ritual with blood magic, at that. If the moon was their conduit of choice, and I believe it was, interrupting it will not be easy.

un: Black Prince; text

[blackscales]

They speak of an anchor.

[valeas]

They do.
Specifically, they spoke of not having one.
And before that, they cut their palms. This was blood magic at work.

[blackscales]

The question: an anchor for what?
A power they were summoning?
Themselves?
An anchor steadies, offers stability, control. Without one, things can unravel.
Hatisse expected an anchor here for an undead lord. There is power here, we both know that. It is, most certainly, contained.
I wonder at the order of events. I'm quite sure they had... assistance, encouragement. Guidance.

[valeas]

I would not be at all surprised if that were the case.
Perhaps the moon itself was their anchor.
If they did summon some kind of power, it was of a strength I've rarely come across. The power I felt for that brief moment was truly blinding.

[blackscales]

A dangerous prospect. Trying to protect themselves from the undead, perhaps?

[valeas]

We know the forest is filled with the Beastmaster's creatures, as surely as we know the Huntress was once involved. What would they not do, if desperate enough?

rare audio

[downswing]

She felt it so.


( Sadly, he cannot confirm first-hand, but. )

[valeas]

( Quietly, to Lan Wangji alone: )

Thank you. For your aid.

[downswing]

( Ah, but unhurried: )

Mere companion.

[valeas]

Companion.

[downswing]

I did not share in your foresight. I claim no glory.

Merit is yours.

[valeas]

What glory is there to be found here?

un: song | text;

[spoilers]

Could it be a protection? I don't know anything about magic, really, but it seems like they might have been desperate.

[valeas]

I certainly do not have enough information to rule out protection. The magic I felt in that room truly did not feel malicious, and desperation can lead one to do many things.

Blood magic is not something one should engage in lightly.

[spoilers]

( Which really can only lead to her next question. )

Why would they need to protect the moon?

I thought blood magic was usually considered...bad.

[valeas]

It usually is.

( It was an act of desperation and grief that led Emilia to it. So she can't help but wonder about the motivations here. )

I don't know if they were protecting the moon, or seeking it as an anchor, or making some sort of offering to it. There's an undeniable connection to the waters of Yancai, though.

[spoilers]

More questions.

You say the magic doesn't feel malicious, but whatever's dragging us back through time is probably that or stupid. ( She's betting on the second, actually. ) Do you think they're connected? And if we do keep going back in time, do you think it will hold?