The day was more than exhausting on the two Meriac mages, and yet Vaera didn't find the blessing of sleep. Be it the paranoia that she got every last spell just perfect, or the existential dread from what was to come when the two had finished, her eyes refused to shut. Perhaps sensing this, Xath laid an arm over her, and she roused from her thoughts, turning her head to face him again - or at least as far as she could, with her back to him. Two golden irises glowed at her in the near-dark of the moonlit room, followed by the voice of her husband, speaking a tongue that was soon to die off from this world.
"Vaera. I can feel that raincloud over you. What is troubling you, my lily?"
As though wondering if she even had permission to speak, she spoke like a mouse. "Xath? It's nothing. I...I was just wo-worried, is all." She tossed to face him then, setting her own eyes on his, letting the warmth of his gaze flow through her, and shake away the chill of fear.
"Vaera, it's understandable. It's no small thing we are doing." He smiled then, and she could not help but feel her own lips starting to tug upward. He set his hand against her face, and gently brushed away her auburn hair from her features. "They still don't believe us. We have to do this on our own, with state support or not. This is for our people, and I could not have asked for a more selfless partner than you." He leaned forward, and touched his lips to her forehead, eliciting a string of repeated blinks from her, and continued. "You practically leapt from your seat, when they were asking for volunteers."
"I...I guess that I wanted to try it out...I have not used much Stasis magic before. I wa-wanted to see, if I could do it."
"And you did, lily. Five Meriac will see daylight again, because of you."
"...Xath?" she squeaked.
"Yes, Vaera?" he whispered.
"What...Will we do, wh-when it is done?" she meekly yipped.
He then rose from the bed beside her, the silken sheets parting as he sat up. Her eyes followed him the whole way, like a timid doe's. "I...Suppose we defend the chambers. We fight off whatever is coming, to the best of our ability. You are quite the mage, and I feel like my odds are much better with you there. Especially so, from what you specialize in."
"A-Ah. You mean countermagic?" It was now her turn to rise, watching him endearingly.
"Yes. Whatever comes, magic will be going rampant." He then extended a hand to her, gently lacing his fingers about hers. She looked down to the joined hands, the smile only growing, and the clouds of doubt beginning to yield to hope. "We fight, Vaeracasilue. We fight, until we can't anymore. We'll drink hemlock, if all else fails, and I will hold you until our last breaths."
"...Xathilnyth, do you swear it?"
"I swear it by every pod beneath our feet."
--------------------------------------------------------------
The next day was as arduous as the last. Twelve more still needed to be put into hibernation, and the couple agreed to splitting the work. Vaera, being the less experienced of the two with Stasis magic, was completing her fifth when her beloved approached, letting off a sigh.
"Vaera. I...Forgot something, from upstairs. I will take care of the last one. Could you go and get it for me? It's a bundle of stabilizing pylons."
"O-Oh! Sure thing, Xath. Thank you, I was starting to feel a little light in the head." He nodded, and looked upon her longingly, with more emotion than his stoic expression let slip in a long time.
As she rose to her feet, and set off to the stairway, she was seized by the wrist. She looked to him in curiosity, only to have her lips ensnared by his. Her heart fluttered, and it took her a moment to register that the kiss should probably be returned. His arm went about her waist, and hers went under his, holding onto his shoulder as their fingers worked together again. The couple remained lip-locked for long enough, that each of them lost track of time. When they finally split their faces away, Vaera huffed contentedly, looking to him in an endearing way.
"...I'll be seeing you, Vaeracasilue. Right in these chambers." He croaked, his demeanor exhausted, and distant from this world. She nodded, and headed off towards the stairs again, her fingertips gently disconnecting from his. He almost seemed to swipe at her hand, as though to seize it again, but alas, he caught only the devoid air, the only traces of her being her warmth on his palm.
Vaera began the process of tearing the room apart, looking for the devices for which she was sent to retrieve. Her mind was fleeting, flitting about from subject, to subject, to subject, all of which tethered to the one that connected them all: her dearest husband Xathilnyth.
Then suddenly, something came about her neck, and breathing became labored. Her eyes widened, and she grasped at her throat, feeling an arm about her neck. She felt herself being dragged backwards, her feet kicking wildly at the floor.
No...No, no, no! I can't fall to this! He's depending on me! Just...Lurch your head forward, and…
Then came the chanting.
...send it back. Towards...His…
The spell continued, as a hand fell over her brow. Her eyelids began to flutter. An idea struck her! She began to reach into her own ties to the outer planes...Only to find the roadways drowned in the mists of sleep.
...His…
The voice uttering the spell only now became familiar to her. And panic began to flood into her dying consciousness.
...Xath. I...What are you…
Her heart began to pound, but her brain began to rock it gently to sleep.
No...No...You...How could…
The spell began to sound less and less like an incantation, and more and more like a lullaby.
...Stop...Please…
-----------------------------------------------
The first thing she felt was the cold. The unbearable iciness of the room cut into her body like an Isldar's razor. The eyes opened, but her vision was flooded, murky from the pounding of her brain against her skull. Her fingertips twitched in rhythm with every throb of her head. Then came the cold of the floor, like a plunge into Northern waters. She began to stand, her body utterly turning against her, as though in disgust. She went into a fit of coughs, forcing out the traces of Stasis medium in her trachea. The bile was soon to follow, and her stomach heaved up naught but acid.
Hours passed, and the migraine finally subsided. She looked to the hollow pod behind her, the case gaping like some starving beast's maw. Her yellowed eyes darted about, the metallic gleam to them gone. Her eyes fell upon a tablet, set at the foot of the stone womb before her. She picked it up, her atrophied arm, and then arms struggling with it. But she eventually raised it, and found it scrawled with hauntingly familiar runes. In fact...Could she read it?
"Dearest,"
She could.
"You may never understand what I did, but know that I did it -" There were several words that escaped her, then. Her groggy, yet piqued mind tried to make sense of another portion of the tablet. "- The people in these halls owe themselves to you. And you, to me."
Her eyelids narrowed, and brows furrowed, as she continued to the next legible passage.
"You asked, and I -" Blasted text...What was being said in between? She was forced to use her imagination. "- You don't have to worry about a thing, my lily."
"Goodbye, V-"
That...Was a word. Was it a name? She tried to sound it, with her newborn mouth.
"Vuh…" She struggled, like a newborn trying to walk, stumbling on the runes. "Veh…Vle...Vlu…" A grinding noise came from her throat, then. Two parts rubbed against each other. It was involuntary, but the clueless woman assumed it to be part of the name.
"Vlu...Xil…"
A snapping noise, from the same organ. It had to be part of the word. Why would she make it, otherwise?
"...Kik."
"Vaera. I can feel that raincloud over you. What is troubling you, my lily?"
As though wondering if she even had permission to speak, she spoke like a mouse. "Xath? It's nothing. I...I was just wo-worried, is all." She tossed to face him then, setting her own eyes on his, letting the warmth of his gaze flow through her, and shake away the chill of fear.
"Vaera, it's understandable. It's no small thing we are doing." He smiled then, and she could not help but feel her own lips starting to tug upward. He set his hand against her face, and gently brushed away her auburn hair from her features. "They still don't believe us. We have to do this on our own, with state support or not. This is for our people, and I could not have asked for a more selfless partner than you." He leaned forward, and touched his lips to her forehead, eliciting a string of repeated blinks from her, and continued. "You practically leapt from your seat, when they were asking for volunteers."
"I...I guess that I wanted to try it out...I have not used much Stasis magic before. I wa-wanted to see, if I could do it."
"And you did, lily. Five Meriac will see daylight again, because of you."
"...Xath?" she squeaked.
"Yes, Vaera?" he whispered.
"What...Will we do, wh-when it is done?" she meekly yipped.
He then rose from the bed beside her, the silken sheets parting as he sat up. Her eyes followed him the whole way, like a timid doe's. "I...Suppose we defend the chambers. We fight off whatever is coming, to the best of our ability. You are quite the mage, and I feel like my odds are much better with you there. Especially so, from what you specialize in."
"A-Ah. You mean countermagic?" It was now her turn to rise, watching him endearingly.
"Yes. Whatever comes, magic will be going rampant." He then extended a hand to her, gently lacing his fingers about hers. She looked down to the joined hands, the smile only growing, and the clouds of doubt beginning to yield to hope. "We fight, Vaeracasilue. We fight, until we can't anymore. We'll drink hemlock, if all else fails, and I will hold you until our last breaths."
"...Xathilnyth, do you swear it?"
"I swear it by every pod beneath our feet."
--------------------------------------------------------------
The next day was as arduous as the last. Twelve more still needed to be put into hibernation, and the couple agreed to splitting the work. Vaera, being the less experienced of the two with Stasis magic, was completing her fifth when her beloved approached, letting off a sigh.
"Vaera. I...Forgot something, from upstairs. I will take care of the last one. Could you go and get it for me? It's a bundle of stabilizing pylons."
"O-Oh! Sure thing, Xath. Thank you, I was starting to feel a little light in the head." He nodded, and looked upon her longingly, with more emotion than his stoic expression let slip in a long time.
As she rose to her feet, and set off to the stairway, she was seized by the wrist. She looked to him in curiosity, only to have her lips ensnared by his. Her heart fluttered, and it took her a moment to register that the kiss should probably be returned. His arm went about her waist, and hers went under his, holding onto his shoulder as their fingers worked together again. The couple remained lip-locked for long enough, that each of them lost track of time. When they finally split their faces away, Vaera huffed contentedly, looking to him in an endearing way.
"...I'll be seeing you, Vaeracasilue. Right in these chambers." He croaked, his demeanor exhausted, and distant from this world. She nodded, and headed off towards the stairs again, her fingertips gently disconnecting from his. He almost seemed to swipe at her hand, as though to seize it again, but alas, he caught only the devoid air, the only traces of her being her warmth on his palm.
Vaera began the process of tearing the room apart, looking for the devices for which she was sent to retrieve. Her mind was fleeting, flitting about from subject, to subject, to subject, all of which tethered to the one that connected them all: her dearest husband Xathilnyth.
Then suddenly, something came about her neck, and breathing became labored. Her eyes widened, and she grasped at her throat, feeling an arm about her neck. She felt herself being dragged backwards, her feet kicking wildly at the floor.
No...No, no, no! I can't fall to this! He's depending on me! Just...Lurch your head forward, and…
Then came the chanting.
...send it back. Towards...His…
The spell continued, as a hand fell over her brow. Her eyelids began to flutter. An idea struck her! She began to reach into her own ties to the outer planes...Only to find the roadways drowned in the mists of sleep.
...His…
The voice uttering the spell only now became familiar to her. And panic began to flood into her dying consciousness.
...Xath. I...What are you…
Her heart began to pound, but her brain began to rock it gently to sleep.
No...No...You...How could…
The spell began to sound less and less like an incantation, and more and more like a lullaby.
...Stop...Please…
-----------------------------------------------
The first thing she felt was the cold. The unbearable iciness of the room cut into her body like an Isldar's razor. The eyes opened, but her vision was flooded, murky from the pounding of her brain against her skull. Her fingertips twitched in rhythm with every throb of her head. Then came the cold of the floor, like a plunge into Northern waters. She began to stand, her body utterly turning against her, as though in disgust. She went into a fit of coughs, forcing out the traces of Stasis medium in her trachea. The bile was soon to follow, and her stomach heaved up naught but acid.
Hours passed, and the migraine finally subsided. She looked to the hollow pod behind her, the case gaping like some starving beast's maw. Her yellowed eyes darted about, the metallic gleam to them gone. Her eyes fell upon a tablet, set at the foot of the stone womb before her. She picked it up, her atrophied arm, and then arms struggling with it. But she eventually raised it, and found it scrawled with hauntingly familiar runes. In fact...Could she read it?
"Dearest,"
She could.
"You may never understand what I did, but know that I did it -" There were several words that escaped her, then. Her groggy, yet piqued mind tried to make sense of another portion of the tablet. "- The people in these halls owe themselves to you. And you, to me."
Her eyelids narrowed, and brows furrowed, as she continued to the next legible passage.
"You asked, and I -" Blasted text...What was being said in between? She was forced to use her imagination. "- You don't have to worry about a thing, my lily."
"Goodbye, V-"
That...Was a word. Was it a name? She tried to sound it, with her newborn mouth.
"Vuh…" She struggled, like a newborn trying to walk, stumbling on the runes. "Veh…Vle...Vlu…" A grinding noise came from her throat, then. Two parts rubbed against each other. It was involuntary, but the clueless woman assumed it to be part of the name.
"Vlu...Xil…"
A snapping noise, from the same organ. It had to be part of the word. Why would she make it, otherwise?
"...Kik."
