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

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?

[valeas]

I do. I believe the connection nearly undeniable, and I believe we keep going back in time because of the magic that took place in the memory I saw.

I am not so knowledgeable on time sorcery itself, however. Are you familiar?