Zalia paced back and forth as her magic deconstructed their home base. There was no point leaving it and its defences here to be discovered, as that may allow the Astar to figure out how to take them down safely.
Since Ember and Aylie had been taken, she had been closely observing the bond she shared with her partner. It felt strange, blocked like the Astar had some kind of magic in the way. She couldn’t read Ember’s emotions or thoughts through it anymore and the lack of this ability after so many years of growing used to it brought her pain and anxiety. Ember was still alive at least.
Out of the corner of her eye, Zalia watched two of the mist creatures wander about the clearing. There was something off about these two that she couldn’t quite put a pin in, an oddity that brought her attention to them. While used to ignoring the things by now, they very rarely moved in groups and lingered in the same place even less often.
The plants used in her living rituals vanished one by one into her vault, the plants that had previously occupied the space moving in and taking their original positions. The artificially raised earthen wall surrounding the clearing lowered and before long, there was no sign of their having lived there. She collected Boreal and the young ones and set off back towards the Astar town.
They wouldn’t want to set up too close to the town, as the chances of being discovered now that the Astar knew of their presence were considerably higher. Unfortunately, if they were to save Ember and Aylie, they would have to be near enough to do so. Having to walk or run for hours each way every single time they wanted to scout out or infiltrate the town just wouldn’t do.
Both Boreal and Zalia were silent as they walked, the deep magical bond between them describing their respective emotional and mental states better than words could ever manage. Should they have given in to those roiling emotions, they might have rushed in to try to save them right then. Yet logic won out against those urges. The correct path was to plan out their attack, and time it for an appropriate moment with a plan set in stone.
Upon nearing the town, they decided to circle it to the other side. It took a while to do so at a distance Zalia deemed safe but they did eventually find a nice location for a home some forty-five minutes walk from the town. There, she set up everything as it had been, a well-protected and hidden home with a portal at its centre that led to a cavern deep underground should they need to retreat.
The younger cats were also silent throughout the whole process of moving, perhaps understanding of exactly how bad things had gone. Zalia blamed herself for this. It had been her idea that brought them here, her plan that had gotten them caught and her incompetence that had meant she couldn’t stop them from being taken at the time. This was a large part of the reason she didn’t like involving others in dangerous situations. It was okay if she made mistakes when it was just her own life on the line, yet when her mistakes caused the ones she loved to be hurt…
Shaking her head, Zalia looked to the others and began planning.
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Aylie floated along in the mist, lost in purpose. They still followed after that thread, the one that attached Ember to the woman she knew to be Zalia. Even when they had caught up to her in that little clearing she had been disassembling, the woman still didn’t pay attention to Aylie or Ember. That was odd to her, as she thought that Zalia normally wouldn’t have even thought to do something like ignoring them.
As she and Ember floated quietly along, visions began to flash through her mind. Strange, jagged shapes of buildings, a sack of firewood, floating people with long hair and depthless eyes. Other people, people she didn’t know, shackled and hauling their own goods.
What were these images?
The mist felt comfortable to her, like a safe haven from those jarring images. She didn’t like what they told her, what secrets they whispered into her formless mind, what truths they spoke of.
They ran into another spirit and the three shared looks, before silently going their own way. Who were these other spirits? Did they receive these flashes of images too?
She turned to Ember to ask the question but once more, as she tried to speak, nothing came out. Why was that? Shouldn’t she be able to communicate these things with her?
The thought escaped her mind, fleeting as every other seemed to be. Was that normal?
That question fled as well. How was she supposed to know the answer anyway?
The only thing that seemed permanent in this place was that thread, connecting her to Ember, then Ember to the distance, far off to where she knew it ended at Zalia.
It was important that they stayed close to Zalia, even Aylie’s porous mind knew that. It was something fundamentally embedded into her, a truth that came not from that far off presence that sent her images, but one that came from the soul of her being.
They eventually found Zalia again, setting up a new clearing like the one before. The magic was a stunning display, waves of power flowing this way and that, grasping plants and earth alike, moving them to where they needed to be. The casual strength of the magic was awe-inducing.
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There was something she needed to tell this woman, wasn’t there? Something important. Something…
Aylie looked to Ember, hoping she would remember what it was. Ember’s blank eyes stared back at her. Did she remember what… what… what Aylie needed to remember?
She shook her head in frustration. Why? Why was this happening?
Looking at Zalia again, she raged against her own mind, so elusive as it was. She would remember, she would keep control over her own thoughts. There was something she could do, wasn’t there? Some power she had that would let her communicate. She might not have lungs, a voice box or a mouth to speak with but she did have something else. A power.
A power linked to that distant presence, the one that sent her images. It had something, she was sure of it. But… but… it wasn’t available to her, was it? Why was that?
She pulled and pulled on that distant presence, trying to bring it to her. It moved, a little, but there was something resisting her efforts. An image of bracers, around thin wrists. Her wrists.
With a final pull, she felt something break, a wall somewhere in the distance, a wall that was stopping her from acting, from using her power, from thinking.
A flood of memories came to her, precious, beautiful thought and the presence of mind.
Congratulations! You have broken through the astral barrier that forms a protective wall between body and mind.
Power came with that flood of memories, the power that she knew deep within herself, the power that was her own.
“Zalia!”
She screamed that word towards the woman as loudly as she could. Zalia didn’t look up.
“Zalia!!” she screamed, even louder. She projected it, putting as much effort, as much energy, as she could into it.
She looked up.
Aylie waved at her desperately, trying to get her attention. Zalia’s brow furrowed as she looked around, an expression of simultaneous hope and devastation on her face.
“Zalia!”
Hands waving, a flood of joy washed through her as Zalia finally looked at her.
A booming voice filled her mind.
“Can you hear me?”
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Zalia stared at the mist creature, half convinced that she had lost her mind. The two had followed them all the way from the other camp, the same two that had seemed just a little off. She swore one of them had called her name, a voice projected into her mind.
They had tried to talk to the mist creatures with mental communication of course, but it had always seemed to scare the things off. It was worth another try though, wasn’t it?
“Can you hear me?”
The mist creature flinched like it had been struck hard.
Unlike each other time, she had tried to talk to the mist creatures, this time a response came.
“Yo.. m…… lis..en. I..’s ..e, A..lie.”
What?
“M.. ..nd ..m..er a..e ri….t h..re, can’.. y..u see ..s?”
Zalia shook her head in confusion.
“I don’t understand.”
The words were strange, distant like they were whispers brought to her on winds from a far place.
As she spoke to it once more, it flinched again. Were her words hurting it? Perhaps…
“What do you want from me?”
She spoke in the mental version of a whisper this time and it didn’t flinch. That was one part figured out.
The mist figure pointed at the one next to it.
“..m..er, E….er, Em….r, ..mb..r, Em..er.”
With the word repeated over and over, Zalia finally understood. Ember.
“Ember!? How could that be Ember?”
The part of the mist creature that held its indiscernible eyes nodded vigorously, then pointed at itself.
“A….ie, Ay….e, ..y..ie, ..yl..e.”
Zalia understood after the first time. It was Aylie.
She had many questions, but only one was at the forefront of her mind.
“How? How are you here?”
She continued speaking in a whisper, not wanting to hurt the mist crea… to hurt Aylie’s mind.
Aylie’s form moved in what looked like a shrug and Zalia began to pace, unsure of what was happening. Memories of the blank slate expressions of the slaves inside the town came to her mind, closely followed by images of the hundreds of mist creatures she had seen over the weeks. It couldn’t be, could it?
Somehow, the Astar had found a way to pull the souls from the slaves they kept, using the powerful body of the high ranked people yet rendering them nothing more than empty shells. That was… that was horrific. It was horrific and it had been done to her partner and daughter. What was wrong with the Astar, what led them to do things like this? How did they justify ripping people’s souls out to use their bodies as nothing more than mindless labourers? Zalia would tear them apart for this abomination, this savaging of nature. She didn’t know how, but she would find a way.