Tala felt tingles all throughout her body, and it wasn’t from the paint that was slowly being applied across her bare skin.
One of many paintbrushes floated around her, occasionally dipping into a small cup of sapphire blue paint.
It moved not at her behest—nor by her will—but at Terry’s.
Apparently, many of the times over the last year that he’d been ‘hunting,’ he had, instead, been practicing controlling items within Kit in order to help her with this day.
Alat had hidden that fact from her, and Tala couldn’t have been more fine with that deception.
The terror bird, for his part, flickered around her in a blur, looking at every angle as he applied her paint according to his desired pattern.
Tala had asked if she had any say, and he had flatly rejected her attempts at swaying what he was doing.
Instead of going for a faux spellform look, he had decided to lean into a different part of her nature, one that they shared.
He was creating claw marks in sets of three rends. The effect of which was to make her look as if she had sapphire under her skin, which had been torn open in places to reveal her true, gem nature.
She could only really see how it looked because of her own threefold perception.
-Terry’s doing an excellent job, isn’t he?-
Oh, absolutely. Tala looked around to try and catch Terry’s eye, but he was simply flickering about too much. So, she simply spoke, knowing he’d hear her. “Thank you, Terry. This is already amazing.”
He trilled in happy reply, the start of the trill coming from near her left ankle and the end trailing off from beside her right hip.
He was using a variety of brushes—one at a time—to give variety to the size of the resulting strokes. He likely could have done the variation with a singular brush, but he seemed to have spent his time perfecting the results, rather than seeking expertise in the process.
Though, I would think one would lead into the other.
-Well, everyone approaches things differently.-
That’s fair. Tala’s thoughts hesitated a moment. Do you have anything you’re doing in preparation?
-Oh, this and that. Enar and I didn’t want any guests on our behalf, besides, we’re you. Those celebrating you are celebrating us in turn.-
That’s true. She smiled, both internally and externally.
Overall, Terry only took about an hour to do every bit of her skin, save the bits that were covered by a tightly woven loin cloth and bust wrap.
Her back and stomach were essentially entirely exposed… as was almost everything else.
It reminded her of her Academy days, when they were getting the students accustomed to ‘traditional’ casting garb and methods.
Tala still marveled at the Mages who were able to turn their every movement into a specific casting of magic, like Mistress Kaeti. The result was a dance of power that was both more subtle and more powerful than what any other sort of mage could achieve with the same output of power. Such was incredibly hard to learn, and while it started more limited in scope, when the Mage reached Mistress Kaeti’s level of mastery, she could respond more easily and more powerfully than a Mage like Tala to a variety of situations.
Still, Tala liked her own path. She had a limited set of tools—all things considered—but she used them well.
But she was distracting herself. It was odd what inanity filled her mind before such a momentous happening.
It was time.
She exited her bedroom, coming out into the large courtyard. The attendees were seated on—and some around—the slightly raised dais which made up the bulk of her courtyard at the heart of her sanctum within Kit.
A central aisle had been left between the two halves of the seating for their approach leading to the control chair, a secondary stone chair situated beside it, near identical in appearance, save that it was larger due to the stature of the intended occupant. It also didn’t have the magics woven through it to control the sanctum, but those were essentially never used regardless.
-They are thrones, Tala. Let’s call a spade a spade.-
Hush, you.
But her focus wasn’t really on the guests, or the dais. It wasn’t on the musicians waiting to one side, nor on the decorations and other little details that had been perfected to strike the right ambience. It wasn’t even really on the thrones.
No, her focus was on the man exiting the entry to the guest rooms barely twenty feet from her.
Rane strode forth, clad only in a similarly sparse loincloth, blood-red paint decorating the firm plains and curves of his body.
They had been done in the style of cracks in stone, similar to Tala’s rends but also utterly different. Where he looked like a stone man who was cracking open to reveal the blood within, she looked to be a flesh and blood woman who had been savaged by wild animals, only to have it revealed that she was made up of a precious gem within.
Honestly, the effect was so fantastic she would have known that the paint was magical even if she couldn’t sense it with her magesight and her pervasive knowledge of what was within Kit.
The effect was just too good.
All told, it was incredibly clear that Terry, and Rane’s parents, had somehow coordinated the looks.
It took a long moment for Tala to notice that Rane was staring at her just as intensely as she was regarding him.
Thank you for policing my perception. It would have been… lesser, to miss this moment, to have known what I would see beforehand.
-Of course. Sometimes seeing something too soon makes everything worse. I’m happy to have been able to help.-
Only after an additional long moment, did Tala remember the guests standing in front of their seats and Master Nadro standing between the two thrones at the end of the aisle.
It was also then that Rane’s parents came into focus behind him.
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A voice called from near the front, on Rane’s side of the guests, “The quicker you get on with it, the quicker you can get on with it.”
A ripple of chuckles went through the gathered people. Tala colored, and Rane sent a mock glare toward his older sister.
Still, Chloe was right. They should be getting on with it.
Tala stepped forward, and Rane moved to meet her in the middle of the space before they turned and walked, side by side—but out of reach—up toward Master Nadro, only stopping when they reached the back row of seated guests.
At that point, Rane and his parents strode ahead, and Tala waited, Terry behind her, sized to be just a bit taller than she was, and wearing a closely tailored, formal outfit made from their elk-leathers.
The three Mages finally stopped before Master Nadro and bowed.
The ancient man smiled. “Who comes before me, and to what purpose?”
Rane spoke in response, his words as scripted as Master Nadro’s, “I come, seeking to be bound to the one whom I love.”
“Who stands behind you in this request?”
His parents spoke in unison, “We, bound in our love, stand behind our son in this request. Our bond, unbroken, is an imperfect example of what he seeks.”
Master Nadro nodded, giving a show of examining Rane. “I testify that this one is not bound to another.”
His eyes then turned to Tala, the audience reorienting on her almost as one. Once they were looking her way, she strode forward, bolstered by the terror bird at her back.
Each row of the audience turned as she passed them, symbolizing that it was her actions, her will, that solidified this process. She was the capstone.
She and Terry stopped before Master Nadro, bowing as Rane and his parents had before.
The officiant spoke again, “Who comes before me, and to what purpose?”
Tala’s voice was a bit quieter than Rane’s had been, but it seemed like the whole sanctum resonated with her resolve, “I come, seeking to be bound to the one whom I love.”
“Who stands behind you in this request?”
Terry dipped his head once again and trilled once. There was a moment of silence before a voice that was not quite Tala’s vibrated from the air around Terry, quiet but magically-carrying. Alat was speaking on Terry’s behalf, “Terry stands behind his flockmate, soulbound companion, and bloodied partner in this request. His love-bond is broken, his life-mate long dead, and he will stand with Tala and Rane against the ravages of Zeme, so that neither she, nor he, would suffer the same fate that he has.”
That was yet another part of the ceremony that Tala hadn’t known was coming. She turned and regarded Terry for a long moment—feeling a tightness in her chest—before whispering. “Thank you, Terry.”
He gave a much softer trill in reply.
Master Nadro regarded Tala in the momentary silence before continuing the ceremony, “I testify that she is bound to none. Please be seated.”
The crowd sat, Rane’s parents joining everyone else while Terry flickered to Master Nadro’s shoulder, resized as appropriate.
That caused a ripple of murmurs and chuckles, but the older man didn’t seem surprised in the least.
“Rane, what do you present?”
He stepped forward and laid Force before Master Nadro with a bow before stepping back beside Tala. “I present my soulbound sword, as I will strive and fight and advance beside my soulbound partner all the days of my life.”
“Tala, what do you present?”
She spread her arms wide. “I present a sanctum, as I will strive to secure shelter, sustenance, and a home with my soulbound partner all the days of my life.”
Master Nadro smiled, “Of violence and safety, I am satisfied. Who will govern the household’s finances?”
They both bowed, Tala responding as they’d agreed, “We both—our other-selves of mind and Archive—will keep our household in good standing.”
“Who will nourish the household?”
Both remained slightly bowing, and Rane spoke this time, “We both will ensure that all are fed and nourished.”
“Who will raise the children?”
They spoke as one. “Only united can we hope to raise the next generation.”
In the audience it was clear that the Zuccats and Fedirs recognized some of the wording from Brandon and Kedva’s wedding. It seemed to bring smiles to their faces.
The remainder of the vows passed in a bit of a blur, Tala’s focus honing in on Rane and his closeness.
She said the words she’d helped put together, but her thoughts were on the man who was about to be her husband.
She could hardly contain her smile.
Still, she came back to the moment when Master Nadro closed off the vows section with a nod. “Let it be as you have said.”
The two straightened.
Tala willed for a small table to appear between them. Three candles and two fire-starters were all that adorned it.
Rane and Tala each lit a candle and turned back to Master Nadro. The wicks had been treated so that the flames each burned a color to match the paint on each of their bodies.
The older man smiled. “Two flames—two souls—stand before me today. From two, they shall become one.”
Tala and Rane picked up their candles and used them to light a single flame in the center. That wick had been similarly treated, but this time it gave off a purple flame.
“Now that there is to be one forged of the two, let the separate flames—the separate lives—cease at their bearer’s will.”
They each blew out their own candle.
Master Nadro then gestured to either side of himself. “In this seat of power and authority, let you sit, and rule together over all that belongs to you.”
Tala and Rane stepped forward before turning and sitting in the thrones, clasping hands as soon as they sat. They both sat carefully and didn’t lean back, so as to not paint the stone.
Master Nadro reoriented, speaking the traditional words as an address to the audience, “These two have chosen to be bound, pledging themselves to right conduct before you all. Shall their bonding be short or long?”
“Long!” Everyone responded. Smiles and chuckles rippled through the crowd.
“So shall it be.” Master Nadro gestured back toward the buildings on one side of the open courtyard, toward Tala’s bedroom. “Rane, Tala, your words have been heard, your intentions made known. Go now, and forge your bond that we may bear witness to your eternal union.”
Rane squeezed Tala’s hand, both of them blushing deeply across much of their bodies, though not as deeply as they had in the pre-marital counseling. They rose again as one before striding forward at a careful pace.
The audience called and cheered as the couple tried not to hurry back down the aisle, moving toward Tala’s bedroom—their bedroom. She’d replaced the bed with one that would comfortably fit them both. She had also made a few other adjustments in preparation as well.
They pushed through the massive, double-hung door and allowed it to swing closed once more.
And with that, Tala suddenly felt everything: her roiling emotions, excitement, trepidation, a bit of embarrassment, and overtop them all, a desire to forge ahead.
The musicians who had been waiting off to the side of the dais—hitherto silent—began to play, and the audience rose and mingled, having hushed conversations as everyone waited.
Tala imposed her will to cut off any sound from entering or leaving the room and severed herself from her threefold sight, to not be distracted by those outside.
Finally, she turned to face the man who was about to be her husband.
* * *
A reasonable amount of time later, Tala and Rane pushed open the door to their bedroom before stepping out together.
The still wet paint that had adorned their skin was now purple in many places. The artistry of the ‘cracks’ and ‘tears’ was broken and smeared across their bare skin. In a way, the effect actually made it seem like they were now less damaged than before.
Their cloth coverings were in place, but those, too, bore a mix of red and blue paints, often blended to various shades of purple.
The two flushed with embarrassment once again even as the audience cheered and called, the various groups of their guests now utterly intermixed.
Everyone present could see a powerful aura of magic and connection around the two as a white aura, visible to the mundane eye, strengthened by their personal advancement and power. It would, of course, still fade over the next couple of days.
Even so, as silence fell among the onlookers, Master Nadro had one last thing to say, by tradition, “Bound by choice, bound by word, bound by deed. Two have become one, souls bound for eternity. May the stars themselves burn away any who dares try to come between these two.”
Everyone erupted in cheers once again.
There would be celebrations, feasting, gifts, and games, but the marriage was complete.
Tala and Rane were married.