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

private. audio.

[valeas]

( Emilia expected Wrath to be on top of things, in general, but especially where the Huntress is concerned. They have failsafes for the possibility of encountering her again, but they're almost as intolerable to her as they are to him. )

How do we know those anchors will not have the same effect on you that she does?

( The mere thought tenses her shoulders, clenches her jaw. )

[inferus]

( Wrath does not want to be trapped in a circle again. He does not want to be kept from his wife when he should be fighting at her side especially with the moon in trouble as it is. However, he trusts her too to know when to use them, to make certain he remains in control of himself. He went through a great deal to have the power to choose, and he refuses to be lost to her.

He hears the worry in her voice. )

I was able to resist her control for a time previously. I do not think her body parts will be more powerful than she is. And if it comes to it, I trust you to do what is necessary as you did before. You saved me, Emilia.

[valeas]

( I caged you, she wants to say, but that is an argument they've already had.

In his position, she would have asked him to do the same. It doesn't mean she likes it any, a position she would not have dreamed of holding when they first (re)met. She did trap him in her summoning circle for days on end, and relished it. )

They're powerful enough to serve as anchors, if Hatisse ( ugh ) is right.

[inferus]

I believe, unfortunately, she may be right.

( Since they are on this private feed, Wrath allows himself to grimace openly, showing his dislike for the woman. He read her missive as well - the way she mentioned him multiple times. And promptly ignored it. )

It means we should be able to sense these anchors, but I have been through the village and the forest, and I have not specifically sensed her, her power. It would feel like her, and I would know it.

[valeas]

( He would.

More than almost anyone in their group, he would. The ghosts and souls of the dead is his sort of his main business. It's partly why the Huntress has such a pull with him, and Emilia absolutely hates it. She hates the way this world leaves them so vulnerable. )

Do you think she is able to do the equivalent of a cloaking spell?

[inferus]

It is possible. I dislike how truly little we know of her abilities, of her weaknesses.

( Given she is their enemy, Wrath would want to have more advantages over her than what they have. )

But it is also possible time caused them to become more obscure especially with the effects the anchors have. ( There is a longer pause. ) If we find one of her anchors, if it is the Huntress', Emilia, we could use it against her.

( Beyond being able to stop the undead here, they could have a way to weaken her. )

[valeas]

All right.

( They already have a tongue, a beating heart, and apparently a finger, not that she knows of the latter. What is more? Vittoria would be thrilled with the tokens, would want them in her jars for keepsake. A memory that ... she does not linger on, not right now.

She must prioritise the Huntress, the caged moon. The beacon. Her husband's vulnerability. )

If you mean to seek them out, I will be going with you.

[inferus]

( There is a soft smile upon his face as he hears her voice - the determination, the fury beneath it. He does love her, and it comes through in the tone of his voice when he speaks: )

There is nowhere else I would want my wife to be but at my side.

( He trusts her. He needs her there in a place where he is vulnerable especially if the Huntress were to show up. She will save him again should he need it though blood and bones, he hopes he does not need it again. )

We will seek them out together.

[valeas]

( Some of the tension is sapped from her shoulders.

Emilia doesn't know why she expected some opposition. They certainly could not come to an agreement to save their lives once, but that was long enough ago — back when she saw him as her enemy and not her partner. )

You should speak with Wei Wuxian, as well. He has as many reasons as you do to want the Huntress weakened. And I trust him. ( Both in terms of his skill, and in his sense of justice and goals. )

[inferus]

I will reach out to him. ( They both experienced the Huntress' ability to control them when she came at Taravast, and so they both have a personal stake in ensuring she cannot do so again. ) Lan Wangji will want to help, and we can coordinate our efforts.

( If his response to Wrath finding out the Huntress had been here previously is at all telling, he will want to be involved and want to protect Wei Wuxian as Emilia will want to protect him. He would prefer having someone at his wife's side if they do need to separate to find the anchors faster. )