Privately to Sky,
:Have you told Djuhah about the things that attacked us?:Privately to Blodwen,
:Not yet. Should we wait until we know more about the figure we saw?:
Privately to Sky
:No. This is a potential threat to the Eyrie. And to any who go out scouting or hunting. We need to make sure that no one goes out alone while those things are at large.:
:Djuhah, Blodwen and I need to speak with you of something. About the reason I left in such a hurry earlier.:
"I was wondering when you would get around to that. I presume it's something we need to worry about?"
"I was wondering when you would get around to that. I presume it's something we need to worry about?"
:Wyvern-like creatures that are immune to magic and heal wounds extremely fast. A few managed to escape and they may have been accompanied by a figure in black.:
"I was wondering when you would get around to that. I presume it's something we need to worry about?":Wyvern-like creatures that are immune to magic and heal wounds extremely fast. A few managed to escape and they may have been accompanied by a figure in black.:
:They are immune to psionics as well as magic. And they are very fast.:
Djuhah frowns. "This is very disturbing news indeed. We will have to take extra precautions. Yet more reasons for me to continue my work on strengthening the wards. Hlaawith, you will tell the others that no one is to go out alone. Only in groups of at least three. And I want a group on standby at all times in case of attack."
Sky looks up toward the aerial entrance,
:If I am needed, I'll be outside. I know what you just said Djuhah, but these preparations are best done alone. If I'm needed, have Blodwen contact me:
Placing Lark next to Amiri and Hlaawith, Sky jumps off the edge of the leaps and soars up and out.
Fly little birdie! Fly and be free!
:I will go and organize the others. I am especially glad that you are safe, Blodwen, now that I know what sort of enemies that you were facing.:
Hlaawith takes off and flies over the Eyrie.
To Sky
:When you get a chance, Herald, I need to speak with you. About Blodwen. It is important but not urgent.:
To Sky
:When you get a chance, Herald, I need to speak with you. About Blodwen. It is important but not urgent.:
:I will be sure to talk to after my own preparations are complete. If nothing happens before then.:
Djuhah carefully sets Nodin back down in the nest. "I must also take my leave now. I must get back to working on the wards."
Djuhah carefully sets Nodin back down in the nest. "I must also take my leave now. I must get back to working on the wards."
:Leaving me to take care of the hatchlings, as usual: she said with amusement. :Go on then. We'll be fine here.:
"It is good to see you again, Shamaness Osprey."
"Is it Icarus? You do not call for me unless you belive something truely dangerous is about to occur."
"You know me well Old One. Take my hand so you won't be away from our family longer than need be," he says, extending his hand toward the ghostly lady. She grasps it firmly. Moments later,
"What have you gotten yourself into? And while you are protecting the tribes last young no less? Nevermind, I already know.
"Then you know what I need your help for."
"The Calling of the Three? For a god you ask much of a mere mortal's spirit."
"You know I bound my power long ago. I will release it for the Calling and then the power will be split amoung myselves. Will you help?"
Osprey takes a long time to answer. "Let us begin..."
The flesh on Sky's left arm ripples and he breaks the first rune...
Blodwen gets all the hatchlings settled in the nest. They keep reaching up trying to grab at the shiny pieces on the mobile that Djuhah gave them.
She gasps and grabs at the side of the nest, using it to steady herself as she sank to the floor. What was Sky doing? Her arm burned with pain.
:All hatchlings should be spoiled once in a while,: Hlaawith says with amusement.
:I brought this for Keehaar,: she adds, dropping a ball she had been clutching in her talons gently next to the exhausted fledgling. :I thought he might enjoy it.:
Keehaar turns into a young boy and takes up the ball
Thank you Hlaawith!
Gasping, Sky finishes the ritual, holding his chest as the magic fades.
"The only reason I did this was because you already know your love won't die if you do. Even with the soulbonding, she will live if you don't."
"I'd only dared hoped. It's because half of my godhood is with her now isn't it?"
The spirit lady is silent for a long moment, then she fades away.
"Ossie! Come back and tell me!"
His shouts echo through empty air. He looks to those he summoned, and with a nod the flow into the rings he had made just for this moment. He relaces the runes he broke, and with a spell, Sky returns to the Eyrie in his human form.
:Blodwen! Are you okay? What's wrong?:
Gasping, Sky finishes the ritual, holding his chest as the magic fades.
** spoiler omitted **
:Blodwen! Are you okay? What's wrong?:
:I feel dizzy and strange. Sky, what did you do?:
There's something a little off about her mental presence, but you can't quite put your finger on it.
:I feel dizzy and strange. Sky, what did you do?:
There's something a little off about her mental presence, but you can't quite put your finger on it.
:What did I..? Oh no, you must have felt the Calling! That ritual isn't meant for non-lycanthropes, I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me, eranoyeh?:
:I feel dizzy and strange. Sky, what did you do?:
There's something a little off about her mental presence, but you can't quite put your finger on it.
:What did I..? Oh no, you must have felt the Calling! That ritual isn't meant for non-lycanthropes, I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me, eranoyeh?:
:I don't understand. What is the Calling? I - I can't think straight.:
:Herald, what I needed to speak with you about has become considerably more urgent. You have to learn to look before you leap, young one. You are soulbonded. What you do affects her. Right now you need to get her away from a poplulated area immediately.:
:Freefall, will you please watch the young ones? I have to get Blodwen somewhere else. Keehaar, this time you stay here, no arguments.:
He bends down to pick her up, barely able to in his human form and flies up through the ariel exit.
:I'll tell you what I can later Blodwen, but for now I must get you out of here.:
:Freefall, will you please watch the young ones? I have to get Blodwen somewhere else. Keehaar, this time you stay here, no arguments.:
He bends down to pick her up, barely able to in his human form and flies up through the ariel exit.
:I'll tell you what I can later Blodwen, but for now I must get you out of here.:
:Too many voices: she whimpers. :Why can't I block out all the voices?:
:Too many voices: she whimpers. :Why can't I block out all the voices?::Freefall, will you please watch the young ones? I have to get Blodwen somewhere else. Keehaar, this time you stay here, no arguments.:
He bends down to pick her up, barely able to in his human form and flies up through the ariel exit.
:I'll tell you what I can later Blodwen, but for now I must get you out of here.:
:Send them to me, love, I'll hold them till we land somewhere away from people.:
Using magic to go faster, they are soon far away from any populace. Sky sets her down gently, and uses small healing spells to sooth her mind and body.
(I never should have performed the Calling without knowing more about our link and putting wards on her. Stupid, stupid, stupid..)
:Herald, I am making this contact as narrow as I can. After I am done speaking with you, I will break contact and all of us will keep our distance from Blodwen until she stabilized one way or another. The world we come from is one where gifts of the mind are not just common but normal. All of us possess them. But there are some rare few who possess an extraordinary gift. Not just to use one talent, but all of them. These Hyeas can also serve as conduits for the power of others making them powerful weapons during times of war. We have known since she was a hatchling that Blodwen contained the potential for this, so we placed careful blocks within her mind to prevent her from accessing her powers too soon and damaging herself. But when we removed them, the walls remained and stronger than ever. She will not even hear or acknowledge any mention that she might possess this potential. I do not know why. I do know that often it...does not go well for those with this gift when they first come into their power. You are about to find yourself in the middle of a phychic storm and I pray that you are strong enough to withstand it. You must help her find her way through. Either she must rebuild those walls or she must accept what she is.:
:I'll do what I can, thank you Hlaawith.:
Sky looks at Blodwen and then his rings. He can see himself in both of them.
"If I can't help her, then the Calling will have been for nuaght. I will need my help to get her past this..."
Two figures seem to leap from each ring to land beside. One places a wing on his shoulder, the other a taloned hand. Taking a deep breath, Sky places a hand on Blodwen's forehead and tries to connect his mind to hers...
Blodwen is doing her best to curl up into a tight ball and making strange whimpering noises. This is the first time Sky has ever heard her vocalize even a little. There is a whirlwind forming around them as first loose dust and small stones are picked up and flung wildly around and then increasingly larger objects.
It is difficult to reach her mind. Telepathic communication has suddenly become very painful for her.
Small objects start popping in from other places and joining the whirlwind.
:Sky, help me. I don't know what's happening. Or how to make it stop.:
Her mental voice is weak and you can feel a great deal of pain in it.
Small objects start popping in from other places and joining the whirlwind.
:Sky, help me. I don't know what's happening. Or how to make it stop.:
Her mental voice is weak and you can feel a great deal of pain in it.
Sky breaks contact and holds his head as pain lances through his mind.
"Blodwen, can you here me? Please try to calm down, Hlaawith told me you are something called Hyeas, and that your abilities had been blocked off when you were young so you wouldn't hurt yourself. They had the blocks removed a while ago, but you had made your own. Now your barriers are gone. These powers do not control you, you control them. Take control now or you won't be able back to the Eyrie. Back to our nest... Please.. Blodwen..."
Sky grabs her hand firmly and begins to pray to Nature and to LJ, hoping for any help he can get.
Blodwen screams and globs of ectoplasm join the other objects hurtling through the air, changing into a variety of shapes as it circles.
:I...don't...know....how...to...control....this....Go!....Get away....before...I...hurt....you:
:I...don't...know....how...to...control....this....Go!....Get away....before...I...hurt....you:
"If I leave you may die, and who will care for the little ones then? Take all the power you have and force into a ball, keep it that way. Use the memories of those you know and love to grant you strength, for them you must learn control!"
Blodwen tries to do what Sky asks, forcing her power into a ball, but it keeps escaping and every time she tries the direction of the whirlwind alters. A few stones, crystals, and other assorted small objects moving at high velocity strike her and Sky when that happens.
:I can't get a hold of it!: she screams.
"Then channel it! Let it all out, straight up, in whatever form is easiest!
The mountains echo with whir of the wings of a rapidly approaching dragon.
The whirlwind begins to move slightly upwards as she concentrates. It is still growing and gathering strength. It starts to coalesce as more and more power flows into it.
Eventually the flow of power stops and what looks like a very large bird goes streaking up into the air before exploding . Blodwen falls back exhausted.
The whirlwind begins to move slightly upwards as she concentrates. It is still growing and gathering strength. It starts to coalesce as more and more power flows into it.
Eventually the flow of power stops and what looks like a very large bird goes streaking up into the air before exploding . Blodwen falls back exhausted.
The figures fade into Sky's rings as he catches Blodwen and places her carefully on the ground. He is crying silently, fearing he may have caused this. He begins to heal the wounds they have suffered in the past few minutes, then, keeping the connection small, he moves away to contact Hlaawith,
:I think she is fine, she couldn't keep her power under control, so I told her to let it out, straight up in the air. She's unconscious right now. Is there anything I can do to help her gain control? ...Is this my fault?:
The figures fade into Sky's rings as he catches Blodwen and places her carefully on the ground. He is crying silently, fearing he may have caused this. He begins to heal the wounds they have suffered in the past few minutes, then, keeping the connection small, he moves away to contact Hlaawith,
:I think she is fine, she couldn't keep her power under control, so I told her to let it out, straight up in the air. She's unconscious right now. Is there anything I can do to help her gain control? ...Is this my fault?:
:It is a difficult path that she has ahead of her, Herald. Learning to master such power rarely comes easily. You will have to help her learn. I think that she is through the worst of it, if that helps any. We will make sure that the young ones are well cared for until the two of you can return.:
There is a long pause.
:This is not your fault. This is what she always was. I do not know why or how she had blocked off this part of herself for so long, but this was bound to happen eventually. You certainly triggered it happening now. You should have been more careful if you were planning to do some sort of ritual. You do not seem to understand what it means to be soulbonded. But if you had not done it now, it would have happened later. Perhaps this was for the best.:
Sky closes his eyes and nods, then returns to Blodwen's side to care for her.
Blodwen is unconscious, but she is no longer curled into a ball, and her face does not look pained. Her breathing is even and regular.
"Oh Blodwen, what have I done?"
Using the last of his druidic magic, Sky places wards on himself and Blodwen, making them blend in with the landscape in everyway. Sky lays down next to her, hand clutching hers, and falls asleep.
Blodwen is wandering through a confusing changing landscape. Every time she starts to see a pattern the whole thing shifts and becomes completely different.
:Sky, where are you? I need you.: