Resurrection…
It’s the ultimate Healer spell – using Mana to pierce the veil between life and death. That in doing so, we may reclaim what was unjustly taken.
On Nisha, the essence of those who perish before their time lingers in the mortal plane for a fleeting moment. Within that narrow window in the afterlife, should they be willing… a Healer can guide them back to the realm of the living.
In the previous timeline, I had been working on it alongside Lady Iris. It is a part of her Prophecy, after all. Her duty as Ecclesiarch of the Order of Selene is to preserve and expand the Akashic Record – that vast and ever-growing repository of Healer and Paladin spells. The source from which the various librams draw their power to guide those still mastering the Order’s sacred arts. As her protégé… I had been assisting her.
But alas, I had to pursue my own Prophecy… and the rest is history.
Now, though? Lady Iris says she’s done it! A sudden flash of inspiration, perhaps after I taught her Clairvoyance? Our relationship has changed, after all. We’re equals now – or so she claims. Equals, guiding and inspiring one another to ever greater heights.
But in my heart of hearts… she will always be my mentor – the one who shaped me into the Healer and Hero I am today. I’ll never forget that. Even if, in this timeline, all that remains of her memories of me, one timeline ago… are fleeting echoes of warmth. I know what I know… and I’ll carry it with me, always.
“There is typically not much in the way of unnatural death on the Isle of Spirits,” Lady Iris remarks gravely, glancing around the quiet sanctum of her surroundings. “The incident at the Highgrove Vineyard involving Ser Sinclair and his party was a rare, unfortunate occurrence.”
“Yeah. It was.”
My thoughts drift to Roderic’s party, and my expression darkens. If I had this spell earlier, I could’ve… damn it. I…
“Our hearts ache alongside yours for the innocent lives lost that day, Lady Ishii...” Lady Iris adds quietly, her voice laced with sorrow as she clasps her hands together, fingers tightening as if grasping something just out of reach. “But know that you and Anna did all you could, given the circumstances at hand.”
“I know,” I remark softly, my voice barely escaping my lips. “And yet, I feel like I…”
“Arisa…”
Anna pulls me into a tight embrace – warm, steady, grounding. She’s hurting too, just as I am, her heart and soul weighed down by what we could not do. But she holds me close regardless. And in this silent, shared grief… I find comfort. And I…
“Grieve. It is okay to cry, Lady Ishii,” Lady Iris murmurs, bowing her head solemnly as Anna and I cling to each other. “These feelings… they are why we do what we do. But you must focus on the present, on the future. For those we can yet save.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Even if some days are harder than others…”
“It will never be easy.”
“But with this spell…”
“I pray you will never need to use it.”
“Me too,” I answer, my voice a whisper. “Shall we begin, my Lady?”
“We shall, Lady Ishii.”
From Lady Iris’s hands, Apocalypse rises in a burst of radiant light, drawing upon the Akashic Record itself. And then, into my own hands… it summons the Libram containing Resurrection – the Libram of Divine Sacrifice.
Silver like the moon, its cover is etched in gold with the holy runes of the Order of Selene. Within its pages awaits the knowledge I seek.
I turn the cover, and the words enshrined within – written in Enochian – blur and shift, their meaning slipping beyond my grasp. But I focus on them, pouring all my attention… and Mana… into understanding it all.
And slowly, steadily… the symbols take form.
----------------------------------------
The Libram of Divine Sacrifice…
There once lived two kindred spirits, bound together by a love that not even time could erase. Their names are lost to history, forgotten amid the winds of eternity and the ever-eternal passage of time… but their love for each other remains undying.
Fate, however, is a cruel mistress. When the hand of death claimed one, the other was left adrift in a world suddenly so much emptier, her soul and heart half of what once was.
But love does not yield so easily. Refusing to accept fate’s verdict, the one left behind reached beyond the veil of mortality, her magic defying the natural order itself. With unwavering resolve, she grasped at the threads of the afterlife for years on end.
Mana, the spark of creation, the essence of all things… holds the key to the impossible. With enough Mana, she defied the natural order, paying a life – an irreplaceable half of her mortal soul… to bring her beloved back.
But not to her world, nor the life she dreamed of reclaiming. To another, her beloved was sent, far beyond her reach. Death is a vengeful lord, after all.
----------------------------------------
Back in the Sepulchre of God…
I blink, grounding myself in the present as I carefully return the Libram of Divine Sacrifice to Lady Iris. My head feels heavy… my thoughts swimming as I absorb the weight of what I’ve just read. It’s almost… overwhelming. That I…
“Arisa.”
Oh. Good grief! That voice – gentle and steady – holds me fast, even as I sway slightly in my heels. I look towards it, and there she is, smiling at me in that soft, knowing way. It’s nothing new… but I welcome it all the same.
“How do you feel, Lady Ishii?” Lady Iris asks, her tone measured and her gaze serene. Yet beneath the composure, I sense a subtle sorrow… a quiet grief she carries close to her heart. “Your eyes tell me that Resurrection is yours now.”
“Yeah. But I feel… weakened,” I admit, frowning as I remain in Anna’s steady arms. “Is this the price of the spell? Or rather… a glimpse of what awaits me if I cast it?”
“Yes and no. It will be far worse than this, I fear.”
“Damn.”
“Use this spell sparingly. Only if you must,” Lady Iris advises, her voice quiet, almost distant. “It will enact a heavy toll… one that will remain with you for a long time. And as I said before, I pray you will never have to. Foolish as it may be to hope.”
I nod resolutely. “For sure. But if it comes to it… I’ll do what I must.”
A faint, wistful smile touches Lady Iris’ lips. “May this final gift serve you well in the days ahead. Go with my blessing, for I can say with certainty that you have honoured our traditions.”
She steps closer, fingers reaching carefully for the fringe of my hair. “We are not what we once were in your past timeline, and we may never be. But you are family to me, as Anna is. Always, no matter what.”
“Thank you for this…” I whisper, bowing my head, feeling the cool metal of my new hairpin beneath my gloved fingers. “I’m grateful… truly.”