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Chapter 3

With a loud boom, Pallor stepped onto another Dreamscape, and then immediately pulled up fast and hard, keeping the group from falling off a cliff.
All around were stars, upon more than any man could count in his lifetime. There was a little piece of rocky ground that the group was on. The night sky is lit up with hundreds of millions of stars, but all very far away. There was no other land here; it was bleak and desolate otherwise. There was no noise except what the group made. The masked being dismounted, looking up into the stars.
"Reminds me of Masks' first dream-scape." Magnus also dismounted, thanking the Taurse and allowing it to leave, which it does. Lily looked out from the side pouch pack and barked twice, wagging her tail. The masked being sat in a meditative position, and looked up, making no signed response.
Magnus sat as well. "Wish Aisling was here."
"I am."
Magnus whirled his head around to see where the voice came from, his body following suit as he twisted to be ready for anything. There was a young girl, with a monochromatic look and scarf over half her face, peering up at Magnus, then down at the masked being who turned at Magnus's movement. Her eyes scrunched up, indicating a smile.
Magnus jumped to hit feet and hugged Aisling. "A friendly familiar face! Hi!" he said excitedly.
"Hello, Magnus." greeted the one called Aisling. She looked at the other being, raising her eyebrows. "Oh my. A little star." And she squatted down on the land, petting the dog. "And this is... Lillian, if I remember?"
"Yes. Lily for short. She hated being called Lillian. And have you met this Deep Fae? I assume it is a Deep Fae. I didn't want to ask its name as we were in danger and names have power; but I think it will be safe enough here." Magnus indicates his other companion.
The girl scratched Lily a bit more behind the ears. "That is a piece of something old and yet new, good sir," and she stands, looking up at Magnus, "but that is not a Deep Fae. A Cnuic na Sidhe would be much more powerful, alien, and certainly able to function better than this. No, this is a little star. Just started out, not much more than..." she peered intently at it, "one, maybe two of your years ago? It has no name."
The masked being lowered its head, shamed. Magnus, however, raised his eyebrows as some thought occurred to him. "Aisling, is that... is that a piece of Masks, cycled in? He said that there... were pieces or something. Something about being 'finished', but it sounded like I would see him again. I know I can't judge all things to be Masks-related, but something makes me feel it is." The man looked at the creature. "Don't be sad, names take time. And you wouldn't want a name that wasn't yours."
"It was hoping to get you to bring it to the Place of Stars, but unless you're going through the stories, then you die out there. I don't think it realizes that," Aisling peered down into its face, upside-down, and the creature pulled its own mask/head back a bit, bumping into her legs.
"I watch over the Place of Stars, because dead people tend to end up there. Occasionally, people get lost in the cracks. Thankfully, gods and mortals tend to be on the ball about who is who and what is what and what happens when you die a final death, and they also seem to get birth as well." The girl lightly poked the creature on top of its head, causing it to cringe in worry, looking to Magnus on how to react. It signed, "What?" and pointed to Aisling. She giggled, amused.
"She was a mortal who had died, and is here as a ghost and dream. A friend." he added softly, before raising his voice once more. "Aisling, I have the Defender invoked within. And while it does not follow--Aisling, what happens if I invoke the Dreamer while I have the Defender invoked? And can I bring him into the star plane as Defender or Dreamer? I mean. Sky and Water has Sky as an attribute. I want to see him home or safe. There was a thing chasing him," he finished as he looked at the creature.
"You two share Sky, and you asked for the Protector's help first. While Dreamer will assist as well, things will change a bit on you as well, even in the Dreaming. While not permanent, it could have repercussions both good and bad. You're a rather excitable person, so I'm telling you this now." She righted herself and straightened up, looking into the sky. "I never get tired of stars."
"Do I have to worry about Paradox invoking two single Counselor runes? I know there is a rune for focus; I don't know if I need to string them together to make a three rune chain or if as is, I can invoke the Dreamer rune. Help?"
"No, you do not need to worry about Paradox unless you cast incorrectly. Even then, it would manifest outside." Aisling took a step or two away from the creature and crouched down again to pet the dog. "The Rune for Focus is Konsantre, pronounced Con-Sahn-Tray. You can also just ask for the Dreamer over Protector, but I would recommend a three-point instead. Casting all Counselors onto yourself without a point other than 'just to do it'..." she looks up at Magnus. "That would be bad. And I know you're not doing that."
The masked being stood, scratching its head. Magnus looked at it and held up a finger, saying, "Wait. So, Dreamer, Focus... Defender would get me the Dreamer as the focus?"
"One way to do it, if you want Protector, or Water to be the more dominant, you'd ask it to summon Dreamer onto yourself, but with control or with focus. You could do Focus Water/Sky on the Summon of Dreamer into one's Self. Or ask Water/Sky to Control the Summon of Dreamer into the Self."
"So, Defender, Focus, Dreamer will focus the Dreamer using Defender, and the other way around will focus Defender using Dreamer--ouch! My brain hurts!" Magnus made a face. "I also need to know the Dreamer Rune, as I have never used it before and that name escapes me."
Aisling's eyes scrunched up as she giggled. "It is Silencio, pronounced 'Sill-Len-See-Oh'. Do you want to have control over the Dreamer as Defender, or just focus on the Dreamer as Defender?"
Magnus cracked his knuckles, slightly nervous still. "Geronimo... The latter, I think."
Aisling nodded. " Konsantre Ulyaoth Tier Silencio Santek."
Magnus cocked an eyebrow. "You'll have to explain the others later some time. Konsantre Ulyaoth Tier Silencio Santek."
--
There wasn't any pain, but within the shell, it felt to Magnus as though he had taken the biggest deep breath he'd ever done in his life, lungs rapidly expanding to capacity with Air/Wind/Sky/Space. However, as his mind raced, the Defender part of himself kept his Focus so he did not fear, did not panic. The outfit was a lot less armored now, and a lot more flexible, neater, cleaner, as his weaponry became transparent yet still sat where it sat, like a ghost on his back and hips. His eyes were covered for only one brief moment, but upon his face the man could feel a half-mask settling.
Inwardly, Magnus felt very cold, but not as in a lack of compassion, feelings and such things that are important to a man. Internally, the knight was freezing, as though someone or something had shut off his inner heat. His breath came back out in a rush, smoky and fogged. Aisling peered up at him. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
The masked being took a step back from Magnus, intimidated. The girl asked brightly, "Want a mirror?"
At first thought, the man nodded. He then paused, and shook his head back and forth as he raised a hand examing the new look. He signed, 'thank you' to Aisling, then indicated with a wave that she should come forth. The Defender/Dreamer outstretched his hand with a wide smile on his face, paused, then extended the other hand to the masked creature. Lily barked, jumping all around Magnus's boots. The girl giggled and took his hand, scooping up the puppy with her other arm. The masked being was still intimidated, not understanding what had happened to its savior. It pointed to its own mask, and then to Magnus, and signs, "What?"
Magnus dropped Aisling's hand lightly to sign back: 'Before-Not-Space, Not-Path. Present, Space Path. Star. Home.' and pointed to the masked creature. Aisling nuzzled the puppy as the masked being tentatively crossed over the final step and takes Magnus's gloved hand once more. Magnus intertwines his own with Aisling's. "All here," comments Aisling, eyes scrunched up.
The girl whispers a small chant, but the masked being throws its other hand tightly onto Magnus's, frightened. Aisling finished her chant and each creature was granted a set of ghostly wings as Magnus's sheer will pushed him off from the ground, flying up into space, sending them all into the stars. The man thought of that feeling of open sky, space, that he found in his first chapter of Masks, when he first started learning. He kept going up, up, and even still upward.
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Created by Janna Oakfellow-Pushee at 07-22-11 05:58 PM
Last Modified by Janna Oakfellow-Pushee at 07-22-11 06:13 PM