Content Warning: A Lot of Blood
Pronunciation Guide:
Xivlos (sigh-vee-loss), Phasus (faa-ess-us), Qhasin (cue-has-in)
Cythenian (scythe-ni-an)
Odelina woke with a start, panting quietly and shivering. She was soaked and freezing cold as she slowly arm-walked herself into sitting up.
Her golden hair had gotten free from the braid she slept it and was plastered to her face, especially around her forehead and cheeks. She continued to pant quietly as she sat against her headboard, shivering violently before she reached over to ring the bell.
The fire had died out, somehow, and she also needed something to at least get the worst of this sweat off with.
She thought it was sweat anyway. One of the night maids came in and he froze when he saw her with his arcana lamp. “Your Ladyship!” he exclaimed and he was pulling the bell pull by the fireplace before he was rushing over to her, and now she could see dark spots on her pale bedding.
“What?” she questioned and brought her hands up to her face, where the wetness was most obvious to her.
And it felt tacky under her fingers. She slowly pulled her fingers away from around her mouth and nose to find her fingers now dark.
“Help’s comin’, Your Ladyship,” he said as he gathered up the bowl and began to clean off her face carefully.
She nodded, head swimming now.
A rotting tree just at the first flush of spring, the symbol of herself doomed, the Northsend Manor rotting.
It was an awful dream.
She was helped up, as shakey as a newborn fawn, and Thruston was stumbling in with Edmond on his heels, neither wrapped up in dressing gowns. There was a rush of people, and she saw colors out of the corner of her eye like she had in the expanse. “My apologies, Your Ladyship. You don’t seem to be in a fit state to transfer yourself. If I may?” the night maid said and she nodded.
He transferred her to her chair and she was quickly taken to the bathing room.
It was then she saw that the colors were the garbs of the Priests. All had gold on them, but some were of red, blue, and black, others of green, blue, and grey, and still others of red, green, and brown. The Aiether flowed over her once she was cleaned up as they tried to find out what had happened.
There were mutters and eventually, she passed out.
Edmond stood as Elder Timo of Xivlos came forward. The old Elder had been up as Imperial Sage four times and after the fourth, demanded to be left out of the voting. The highest honor and he had refused it every time to stay here.
When asked, he would merely say, “Xivlos needs me in Northsend,” and that was that. His connection to the Aiether, to the Ethereals, was unparalleled, supposedly. Edmond didn’t know much about the Aiether as he did about the Arcana that he practically breathed.
“How is she?” Thurston asked quietly, hands clenched around a teacup.
Edmond always felt out of place in their sister’s room, but even more so now. He wondered what it would look like after Thurston was the Duke instead of just Duke.
“It seems to be stress,” Elder Timo said and he paused. “According to Elder Gwennan of Phasus and Elder Amyas of Qhasin there was severe stress on her Body and Mind. I, personally, however, believe that stress came from the Soul. I would need to speak to Priestess Enne, but I believe your sister may have been recorded incorrectly regarding her Arcana Pathways.”
Edmond reeled back slightly at that.
“If she has Arcana pathways and she hasn’t been taught meditations, at the very least,” Edmond said, fear making it feel like vice had clamped down on his lungs.
“But can her body cope with that?” Thruston argued.
“She can’t cope without it,” Edmond argued. “Having Arcana pathways means one doesn’t have a choice. She needs to at least do the meditations or this will keep happening.”
“This is the worst time to be happening,” Thurston hissed and Edmond winced.
They could not stay.
Thurston had to go to the capital, to Cythenian, and Edmond had to represent Northsend Duchy in the Empire Wide Tourney, or the Tourney of Summer. The first part happened in Northsend, but at the southernmost point, meaning nowhere near the seat of the Duchy, and they had to be there a month before the first day of summer.
And that was rapidly approaching.
They would not see her again until the final part, held in Cythenian itself, for the final part of the tourney and then the series of balls following. They would only get to return home after all that.
“Elder Timo, we leave our sister in your hands. The meditations for Aiether Pathways and Arcana Pathways are identical,” Thurston said as he stood up slowly. “Edmond, you have to leave in two days. We need to rest.”
Edmond hissed, but sighed and stood, with a tiny nod of agreement.
“As you say, Your Grace. I will care for her as if she were a Prophesier,” Elder Timo said with a small bow of respect.
Those of the religious order did not have to bow to anyone but the Emperor and Empress. If they bowed to anyone else, it was out of respect.
“No need to go that far, I think,” Thurston said quietly. “Thank you. And please give our apologies to Odelina.”
Elder Timo promised to do so, or have another do so if he was not there, and they headed out. Thurston paused once outside the door and sighed, covering his face with his bad hand. “Careful you don’t chew on it again,” Edmond said quietly and Thurston nodded a bit.
“She’ll be okay with Elder Timo looking over her,” he reassured and Thurston nodded again.
“I just don’t like this,” he admitted before he went back to his rooms.
“Neither do I,” Edmond muttered as he turned to do the same.
Pronunciation Guide:
Xivlos (sigh-vee-loss), Phasus (faa-ess-us), Qhasin (cue-has-in)
Cythenian (scythe-ni-an)
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