When The Moons And Mirrors Rise

Chapter 39

"Oh, it's you. Have you finally worked out how worthless you are, and you're going back to your village?" said Roselen.

"I'm not worthless! And I'm not going back to Orsilnon, not now and not ever! I'm exactly where I want to be."
"Well, you shouldn't be here. You're not on the chosen's side, and you're not a Cursed, so there's no need for you to be here. You'll only get in the way." All Ris heard was 'you're in the way of the quest.'
"I'm helping the Cursed and Enchanted! I'm going to reverse their fates! I'm going to complete the quest, and you can't stop me!" Ris cried.
"Leave her alone!" Lulu demanded.
"You made a mistake when you chose to go with them."
"I did not. Anyway, what does it matter to you? I can make my own choices."
"Silly you, think you can tell others what to do. Go away!"
"I don't listen to crows."
"Well you'd better listen to me then, because I can tie you up in a vine and set it on fire. So how about you leave us alone." Roselen pulled a face and walked away.

"Who was that?" Leyin asked.
"Roselen. She's from Kenshalty Abbey, and she hates Ris solely because she's a crow magic user," said Lulu.

Ris and Leyin meandered around the encampment, since there was little else to do. Rogues tended to stay with other rogues, it seemed, although some hung around the Cursed.
"How many of them do you think are wraiths?" Ris said.
"Probably a fair few," said Leyin. "There's death maidens and servants here too -- do you think any of them will get released?" Ris shrugged. A wisp floated past them and, a moment later, Gwena of the Night Order passed them too.
"Oh, hey Gwena!" I said.
"Hey Promise, nice to see you again. Have you seen William, Raven, Tristan, Ronan, Loki, or Isolde? Everyone went out to talk to the Cursed about the chosen's plan, and to keep an eye on the rogues, but something's happened and I need to talk to them."
"No, I haven't. But we can help you look for them," I offered. Gwena smiled and nodded, before spotting Tristan and going after her Enchanted leader. I told Ris and Leyin to keep an eye out for Isolde's golden-hour sunset kit (whose name was, accordingly, Marigold), Raven's summer-sky blue kit (who was named after his Enchanted father, Phil), and described the others to them.

"I thought you were the chosen," Leyin said. Ris looked at her, confused and flustered.
"I am." She blinked.
"But she acted like the chosen was someone else, otherwise she would have just said 'everyone went out to talk to the Cursed about Ris' plan'. And I haven't seen you talking to them so you haven't had a chance to tell them your plan."
"I can use telepathy, remember. She was focused on finding the rest of the Night Order, too, so I don't think she saw me." Leyin stared into Ris' eyes, before turning away to keep looking for the scattered members of the Night Order. Kestrel had asked her about it too, after what happened with Fang. She exhaled, her breath like a stormy ocean, and kept searching.

Stella rose, cool and gentle at first, but she vowed to bring a warm and sunny day. Ris lay on her blanket, watching clouds sail on overhead. The early part of morning is the nicest, and she wanted to spend it in as much peace as she was going to get before she talked to Hë'öhðinðuhl. Argenti was half-empty today, although she wasn't up yet, and her little brother, Lumen, was empty and probably climbing the eastern part of the sky. Ris watched a bird flit between branches in the bush next to her, listening to its trills and warbles. Opal hooted from her perch on Kestrel's shoulder, and was answered with a chirp from Pear. Cobalt must have been with Lulu, who was talking to Tristan of the Night Order, last Ris knew. Kestrel sat and they ate together. The Seelie also revealed that she'd found a plum tree nearby. Pear and Opal nosed at her sides, looking for the plums. She took them out and handed one to Ris, before eating hers then cutting one up for Pear and Opal. The red juice dripped down Ris' chin, and over the indigo dots on her wrist. Kestrel handed her a waterskin, and she washed the juice off.

Solinan hummed inside Ris, like the summer chorus of cicadas, quickly growing louder. Kestrel looked at her, seeming to sense it as well, and nodded. Pear crawled into Ris' lap as she lifted her closed eyes skywards and reached up and out to Hë'öhðinðuhl. She was met in the starlit darkness of the open universe.

"Your strength has grown significantly, Ris; I have no need whatsoever to hold your link together. Do you feel strained at all?" Hë'öhðinðuhl spoke, filling Ris' head with her serene, resounding voice.
"No, not really."
"Good." A smile filled the wyvern-star's voice. "Now, listen: I am going to fill you with my magic -- you will be like the Enchanted. I myself cannot help Lucarih'thën, and you are human so you cannot do so alone either. However, if you become a vessel for my magic, you can help him regain his strength so the backlash doesn't kill him. All three of us will be weakened, but he will live and become strong again within a matter of days. The largest toll will be borne by you, Ris, but you will recover by the time Lucarih'thën is ready to reverse the fates. Do you understand?"
"I think so." She nodded, clasping her rock in her hands, feeling her pulse against the cool touch of stone. Her stomach was full of frenzied butterflies.
"Quieten yourself, and trust me."

There was a lull, then a sense of weightiness that somehow felt suffocatingly light. Power surged through her blood, tingling a little before settling, just as it had felt when the ole helped her at the labyrinth in the forest.
"Ris?" Kestrel had moved closer, and held her head in her lap. "You look pretty pale."
"I'm alright," Ris said, smiling softly. "I've got Hë'öhðinðuhl."
"You've got her? What do you mean?"
"Like an Enchanted." Kestrel's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
"What?!"
"I know right!" She grinned. "Anyway, I've got to deal with Lucarih'thën now."
"Ok. You've got this!" Kestrel hugged her, and she reached starwards again.

Ris could barely feel Lucarih'thën, even though she was certain she'd made a stable connection. His mental touch was light and faint, only a trace of presence. He had been stretched too thin for too long, like too little butter on too much bread.
"Call him by his soul name, and speak the words Smaravod taught you," Hë'öhðinðuhl murmured, and she told Ris the king's soul name. She gathered herself, breathing deeply, and spoke to him. Magic swelled inside her, dammed until the last syllable left her lips, and it flooded out from her. She felt it pour into him, filling him up like a long-dried riverbed, roiling and swirling. The tumult gradually became still.
"Thank you, Ris." His voice felt like the ebb and flow of the tides, the crashing of waves upon rocks. She felt the sound more than heard it and, somehow, she felt safe in it.
"I will tell the wyvern-stars to speak with their Enchanted, and in two days' time I will release the spell I've been keeping since the dawn of the GlassShatter Age. As for your friends, Leyin and Tristan, Kestrel and Saoirse can help them link with theirs. Oh, and also, in return for your aid and support, you may call to me whenever you want someone to talk to, from here on after."
"Thank you, Lucarih'thën." She let her mind slip down, and felt Hë'öhðinðuhl's presence inside her linger only a little longer as she drifted into sleep.