Aspen
[Thursday, Dreyrune 18, 4310]
—Enclave Sacred Hall—
I watched as crates, packages, boxes, and more were brought into the workroom by the house staff. I, along with Nimra, Uncle Cor, and Aunt Zira, were checking the contents while various teams were processing and preparing the ritual components.
In two days, we will do a never-before-done ritual. While the world at large will never know of our work, it will be submitted to the archives of the Grand Sentinel Council and the Council of Asari.
How the report would be submitted without the council's knowledge was not my concern. Regardless, to know that something I took part in will be stored in such a sacred place is a dream come true.
"Do you think this will be enough gold and Na'loren-root thread?" I heard Aunt Zira ask Nimra. Nimra stopped what she was doing, checked the logs, then what was in the wooden box held by Aunt Zira.
"Yes, this will be more than enough. We truly have enough of everything we will need. With the leftover, Mal has been considering creating an artifact weapon for Nyx as a ritual success celebration gift. When testing out various weapons with Ny, she has shown great aptitude with twin blades."
"She is definitely a child of our Ajei bloodline. Other than Keir, all the older kids use essence and weapons together." Aunt Zira mentioned thoughtfully.
Uncle Cor, however, corrected Aunt Zira's misunderstanding.
"Keir may not use raw essence externally often outside of basic casting, but what he does do with it internally makes him just as powerful. Keir is a rare genius of the battlefield. He is a weapon himself. He earned the right to inherit Malcolm's title as the Ajei Warlord justly. He also has other qualities that I feel make him the best candidate as the next …."
"Cornelius! Do not speak of such matters here." Nimra shut him down so fast and final that the room paused for a moment.
I sent a blanket of calm and indifference across the room to distract the ritual teams. They all immediately lost interest in us and returned to their tasks. Uncle Cor looked annoyed but apologetic. "I'm sorry, my mouth got ahead of my good sense." He grumbled with his back turned.
I could see Nimra's eyes roll from where I stood. Nimra raised an eyebrow at Uncle Cor then at Aunt Zira. Aunt Zira shook her head and gestured for Nimra to go to Uncle Cor.
Nimra huffed, set her tablet down, then hugged her twin from behind. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, brother. There are at least two spies among the ritualists. I worry that since we aren't explaining what this ritual is for nor allowing them to participate in the actual ritual, they will latch onto any juicy intel they come across. Will you forgive me?"
Uncle Cor's tense body relaxed in increments, then he patted his sister's hands. "I understand. I forgive you, so please forgive me. It was my fault for not thinking to mind-speak my thoughts. Now let's finish inventorying everything so we can begin the construction of the ritual array."
"The room has been consecrated, and we have guardians protecting its sanctity. We will need to finish the array tonight so we can lay down the framework tomorrow. On the day of the ritual, the matrix will be completed so we can initiate the Working."
Nimra gave him one more squeeze before they both got back to work. Since my section and Aunt Zira's was completed, we went ahead of Nimra and Uncle Cor to begin the construction of the ritual array. "Are you excited, Aspen? You have always been so low-key that not many people realize you're a medical genius. If this ritual you created was ever made known to the wider world, you would be famous worldwide."
I side-eyed my aunt, wondering why she was being so strangely provoking today. When I passed her, I brushed against her. The imprint I got from her unsettled me.
She had picked up a spectral parasite from somewhere. Her gaze never completely left me as she continued working. —Lux, I'm going to need your assistance. Aunt Zira picked up a little ghost from someone and is currently possessed. She was fine 30 minutes ago, and now she seems to be trying to cause discord.—
Lux's concerning excitement came loud and clear through the mental link. —I'll be right there. She probably picked it up from one of those items you all bought. I'll bring Keir with me. Get her into one of the smaller rooms for extraction before the spectral energy starts to undo the consecration of the main ritual room.— Then he was gone from our link.
Great, just what we don't need at this moment. Since the ghost was weak and I didn't want to delay our schedule more than this side quest will cause, I quickly pinched her acupressure points to knock her out.
Unfortunately or fortunately, I didn't know which yet. That was the moment Nimra and Uncle Cor walked into the room.
They stared dumbfounded at my action. Not wanting to tempt fate by letting the ghost wake up while I explained, I carried Aunt Zira out the main hallway door. Next, I speed-walked down the hallway to where Lux typically liked to do his death affinity work.
I laid Aunt Zira down on the stone table just as Nimra walked in, then spun around to go back the way she came at speed. She probably went to lockdown the building. Bringing Aunt Zira to this specific room after knocking her out is reason enough to do so. Uncle Cor went around to the other side of the table to look down at his mate.
"Explain, Aspen." Two words spoken with cold worry. "You know how sensitive I am to emotional currents. With so many people in the same room as us, I didn't first pick up that something was wrong when she provoked you into almost out loud declaring Keir as your pick to be the next patriarch."
"You are one of the most politically minded in the family, so in hindsight, it was odd you would start rambling like that in front of so many listening ears." While I spoke, we made Aunt Zira comfortable with a blanket and pillow, then we began lighting candles in preparation of removing the specter from inside our loved one.
"When it was just us in the ritual room, she was subtly talking about how low-key I was and how I was a genius. It felt odd that all of a sudden she started initiating strangely targeted conversations. She has always been supportive but not like this. Since it was just us, the fact that her surface emotions felt scrambled concerned me enough to act."
"So I brushed against her to test if she was just in an odd mood or something else was going on. My touch revealed the spectral parasite, so I contacted Lux, and he said to remove her before spectral energy affected the ritual space."
I finished speaking just as Nimra, Keir, and Lux came in and shut the door. Keir looked around confused. "So what is going on that Lux had to kidnap me and Hael from a mission briefing?"
When he realized what specific room we were in, he put his tablet into his pocket space and pulled out a sleeveless robe of white that had glowing sigils woven into it. While he threw his shirt and shoes into the pocket space, Lux came over to examine our sleeping aunt.
"How long has she been out?" He licked his finger, then pressed his thumb on her forehead. This left a glowing mark behind. Since when does his saliva glow? No. No, don't go down that rabbit hole, Aspen. We need to complete this side quest, then get back to work within the next hour.
"She has been out for about 15 minutes. I've put her into a deep enough slumber that she won't wake up until we let her wake up. What do you need us to do?" Uncle Cor responded, his rose-pink eyes had shifted to a deep red, and his breathing had become labored.
"Keir can show you where the ceremonial robes are. Don one and then return to stand by her head. You will be the tether to hold her in body when I pull the ghost out. Based on my mark, the ghost is still weak, but if it becomes embedded, it will continue to feed on Aunt Zira's essence. With enough time, it will feed on her soul. Hael is currently tracking down its previous vessel."
"Hopefully, it isn't a must-have for this ritual because we will either need to destroy the vessel or realign its purpose." Lux had donned a black robe that looked caught between here and somewhere else. I went with Keir and Uncle Cor over to a chest near the back wall. Keir handed me a grey robe that smelled faintly sweet and herbal.
After putting on the robe, I went back over to Lux for instructions. "You will be my assistant for this extraction. Hand me what I need as I ask from this side table. Stay on the opposite side so you don't get in my way. One moment of our guard dropping, and the ghost could jump to one of us. I sense that it currently doesn't feel we can remove it, so it isn't trying to get free of Aunt Zira right now."
"Nimra will stand guard by the door and wait for Hael to come tell us if the previous vessel will need to be destroyed or can be used for containment after realignment. Keir will maintain the boundary. Making sure nothing gets out or in. If everyone is ready, let's begin."
When everyone indicated their readiness, without prompting, Keir sat down on the throne-like chair towards the back of the room. The moment he sat down, a boundary circle manifested. It would seem my twin and our younger brother have been having fun without me. I guess it is a good thing they have found an activity to do together. Though them doing death affinity rituals would not have even been in my top 20 guesses.
Once the circle stabilized, the edges of the room felt further away. We are now in the in-between.
I watched as Lux guided Uncle Cor to place one hand on the back of Aunt Zira's neck and the other over her heart. Lux placed his own hand on her solar plexus before speaking a spell of soul stabilization. Vel'an Vel Zul'thai Sor'kaiin enthral (Bind the soul… enthrall the blood to its true center).
With the groundwork laid, Lux's eyes began to glow with power. "Parasitic specter, do not make me reach in and pull you out." Lux's voice resounded in the enclosed space with a boom.
Aunt Zira's body tensed, her eyeballs fluttered behind her closed lids, and her mouth opened, but no sound came out. "Two sealing talismans," Lux extended his hand toward me. I handed over the items.
Lux placed one over her eyes, then closed her mouth and placed the second over her mouth.
"Vel'anor. (Restrict) Torah. (Reveal)"
Before our eyes, Lux's hand went transparent, then he reached into Aunt Zira's body. He pulled out a sickly green, glowing ball, but there was a black chain tethering it to Aunt Zira. The ball's shape shifted to that of a screaming, raging face.
"Blue obsidian athame." I handed over the ritual knife.
With a swift slash, the chain was broken, and the raging face was now sobbing. Aunt Zira's body instantly relaxed, and her twitching ceased.
Lux focused his ruby and gold gaze on the green face. Seeing it had his attention, the green face's expression shifted to one of apology. Lux squeezed the ball a few times like a toy before suddenly throwing it like a baseball at the barrier. It was destroyed on contact.
I didn't participate in Lux's rituals often, so I was not sure if this was his usual method to getting rid of such entities, but I couldn't say I disapproved. It was effective if nothing else.
After making sure the specter was gone, Lux's eyes dimmed to only faintly glowing as he placed his hand back on Aunt Zira's solar plexus.
Ilya'reen Vel Thalyor Zul'thai (Mend the soul… restore the body to harmony). I could sense a pulse of essence spread throughout her body. Mending the areas the specter had lightly damaged during its stay. Lux removed his hand, then gestured to Keir. Keir proceeded to stand up thus releasing the boundary. Lux examined Aunt Zira one more time before giving us a nod.
We all released the collective breath we had been holding. Lux stepped back then used telekinesis to roll the small table of ritual items back against the wall.
He removed his robe, put it into his pocket space, then took our robes from us. While he was putting the robes away, Uncle Cor was beside Aunt Zira waking her up.
Keir had put his own special robe away in his pocket space and was in the process of restoring his director appearance when a knock was made on the door. Nimra opened it to let Uncle Hael in.
His slow, gliding steps and blood-coated appearance had me mildly concerned. How did finding a rogue spirit vessel turn into him getting bloody? As Nyx would say, the plot thickens.
His usual sky-blue eyes were a murderous wine red. He approached the table, kneeled down, then held Aunt Zira's hand to his face. She fully woke then, turning her head to fully look at him. She quickly sat up when she saw him blood-splattered.
"What happened to you? On that note, what happened to me? The last thing I strongly remember was asking Davina a question; after that everything else is foggy until now."
Uncle Hael kissed the palm of her hand, then pulled her into a deep kiss until she had to push him away to breathe. Seeing Hael's upset face, Aunt Zira and Uncle Cor pulled him to sit between them on the stone table.
We left them to comfort each other. I would give them 20 minutes, then remind them we were on a tight schedule. Once in the hallway, Nimra pulled up to wait against the wall. She put up a sound barrier around us before speaking.
"The possession was intentional. One of the ritualists is an admirer of Hael and Cornelius. They planted the imprint on the item Zira had been holding, then released the specter to infect her. Hael executed the person. Rakesh is handling the clean-up. Mrs. June and Nyota are screening everyone else to make sure there are no more hidden surprises. Your Korran is considering putting the entire palace complex into lockdown until the ritual is complete. Thoughts?"
"I'm in favor of this. It is noon now. Have Korran enact a complex wide screening and lock down. Keep only the essential and trusted people on site until the ritual is complete in two weeks. Put all non-essentials on enforced vacation. Those who stay can be given hazard pay and a reward." I spoke up, wanting to immediately cut out any other variables that could disrupt the ritual.
"I second Aspen's idea. I will work with Rakesh, Mrs. June, and Korran to get everything settled by tonight so we can go into full lockdown in 12 hours." Keir looked drained but stable. Lux just nodded his agreement. Nimra looked thoughtful before nodding as well.
"Then Keir, you get to go tell those three the plan while we will keep working on ritual preparations. Lux, go with him to help get things started. Once they got the ball rolling, come back to help us. If we are only going to have essential staff staying, that will put more work on us. So it will be all hands on deck except for Nyxara and the kids. I'll call Zenaida to come assist us. We will have to take turns spending time with her to keep her relaxed."
We had our marching orders and departed to fulfill our duties. We were about to achieve what was thought to be impossible—exchanging memories between two souls across dimensions.
I might really be a genius if we pull this off. I couldn't conceal the extra pep in my step as I returned to the main ritual room.