Ori blinked away a drop of sweat that had run over his eyelid, using the brief pause to loosen his jaw and inhale a deep breath that refreshed his nearly exhausted mind.
"Couldn't you take a break? You’ve been at this all day," Poppy said beside him. Her presence was a massive boon as through Mana Union, her Sovereign ranker’s Mana pool accelerated a process that was already pushing him to his limits in duration and mental focus. They stood within a circle in the Sanctum, the Aether Rifts' blue light shimmering with chimeric potential under Ori’s Vision of the Progenitor.
"I wish I could, but every pause causes microfractures and imperfections. If I’m lucky, I should be able to smooth them out with the Quickening, but only if they’re small," Ori explained, before continuing. He was at the halfway point of Echo Forging when he started to question his life choices. He wasn’t entirely serious, but the idea of spending hours hunched over something, keeping a perfect image of it in his mind while wanting to puke—or worse—because of the pain from nearly soulcrafting himself during the re-enchantment of a soul-bound artefact, was something he never wanted to experience again.
Perhaps it would be easier with improved skills? Ori knew the truth was that he’d more likely be attempting ever increasingly complex enchantments that required even higher levels of masochism as his pain tolerance increased.
Without Split Mind this process wouldn’t be possible, as one-third of his mind focused on the Spell, another third on the image, and the last free to observe the process using his perception, daydream, or react to anything during the channelling.
Hour by hour, the new form of Seraphine took shape. Starting with a wire-thin length one and a half feet long, Echo Shaping added to the wand’s form layer by layer, increasing its thickness so that the object tapered from an inch thick at the base to a blunted point at the tip. Gone was the astral crack that had split the celestial-imbued crystal in two, replaced instead by his unknown affinity that saturated the material now known to him as Solenoidic Zirconium. With the crack gone, so too was the wand’s minor Mana Source ability, with Ori no longer able to call on the artefact for mana. Instead, Celestial and Astral energies were woven together in a cylindrical pattern that matched the deeper crystalline pattern of each layered ring.
As the hours passed, the last third of his mind began to fall into a trance, instinctively gaining some understanding of the nature of his inherent affinity. It was light, similar in stature, if not in nature, to the Astral or Celestial affinity, as if it were part of the same family. However, while Astral signified chaos, dreams, and willfulness, and Celestial projected order, growth, and purity, his affinity differed.
These hours were the longest Ori had ever been exposed to the magic that made him special, and with his overpowered perception ability, he began to enter a state of enlightenment. How would you describe the colour blue to someone who’d never seen it before? How would you put into words a feeling or sensation to someone yet to experience it? It was this insight that Ori experienced, an ability to turn a wordless instinctive knowing into something he could describe—that light beyond the final light of stars, the living breathing flux of the universe, the promise that there’d be a future even when the final stars blink out. That a cold death existed for any who wanted it, but for those who wanted more, strove for a future, chose to live on in wrath or joy, this light would be their servant, their torch, their beacon towards a freedom of their choosing.
Distantly, Ori heard Poppy gasp as she collapsed to her knees. Peritia and a deluge of mana aspected with his affinity flooded the room. Fate and Aether intervened with his Echo Forging, accelerating his channelling and reinforcing his wand using mana created from nothing by his moment of enlightenment. For a moment, his artefact turned from a translucent, roughly hewn cylindrical crystal into something that glowed too brightly to be seen directly.
"Ori!" Poppy exclaimed in alarm, as its light bathed the hall in a brightness too intense to be anything other than pure white. Ori, too, was forced to close his eyes. Meanwhile, he could sense that Echo Forging could no longer channel as he’d completed the pattern, the re-shaping aspect of his re-enchantment complete.
"You okay?" Ori asked, only now realising that his hand sizzled under the molten heat of this newly reshaped artefact.
"Ori? Am I okay? Look at yourself, half of your skin is covered in blisters," Poppy said as she stood on unusually wobbly legs.
----------------------------------------
Ori soaked in the palatial baths with Harriet sitting on his lap, his arm wrapped around her middle as he lazily rubbed and massaged her shoulders. He exhaled, his exhausted mind and freshly healed skin luxuriating in the heat and steam of the warm bath, and the slippery sensation of warm, wet skin pressed against him.
“When I arrived, I took one look at the hall that even now still sparkles, Poppy on her knees practically in a puddle, and that burning stick that chargrilled your hands while you held onto it as if it was nothing. And knew there was no way I’d be calling in Irbron to make sense of this madness. That I had to choose Namer, as my eighth class.” Harriet continued in mild exasperation, “Even if it’s just a day or two, it is still plenty of time for my overachieving lover to commit more miracles, like create a new minor evolutionary branch for high elves, or casually hint at the existence of a new demiplane with a Transcendent Artefact
Ori simply chuckled.
“Honestly, I was trying to keep it simple. Look, the enchantment is super basic. Who knew it would perfectly align so well with my affinity and cause a random magical epiphany?”
“Hmmm, I’m still annoyed you decided to finish the enchantment there and then, instead of healing your wounds.” She said in annoyance. “I would see the artefact again if you don’t mind,”
Ori summoned his artefact to his hands while he reviewed the results of Harriet’s naming.
> Artefact Name: Seraphine's Beacon
>
> Type: Transcendent Channelling Wand of Harmonic Arcana
>
> Characteristic Requirements: Unknown
>
> Other Requirements: Harmonic affinity, Transcendent Affinity
>
> Effects: Enhances harmonic spells and abilities with 75% reduced mana cost, 99% increased accuracy, and 1000% increased range and coherence. Acts as the living phylactery of Lady Seraphine of Serilian.
>
> Description: Seraphine's Beacon is a transcendent rank artefact, re-enchanted during the epiphany of Ori Suba, a moment wherein he was awarded a state of enlightenment recognised by fate. This artefact, invariant under all Demiplanes, embodies a harmonisation of arcane energies, offering a direct conduit to harmonic mana, breath, aether, Grace and Quintessence.
>
> As a twice soul-bound artefact to Ori Suba and Lady Seraphine of Serilian, it serves not only as a powerful channelling wand but also as the living phylactery of Lady Seraphine, ensuring her essence is intricately linked with its existence.
>
> Seraphine's Beacon is unique in its capacity to be re-enchanted by its user, albeit with standard material and mana costs. Its structure and magical framework allow for a staggering increase in the efficiency, accuracy, range, and coherence of harmonic spells and abilities, making it an unparalleled tool for wielders of such magic.
>
> Notes: Wielding this artefact requires alignment with an affinity that as yet remains unknown. This mysterious affinity, imbued during the artefact's creation, marks Seraphine's Beacon as the first of its kind—potentially acting as a key to undiscovered planes beyond the reach of fate. This aspect renders this artefact not only a powerful magical instrument but also a beacon of exploration, hinting at realms beyond the knowing of all who are known.
>
> Legend: Originally crafted and enchanted by High Enchanter Queen Varma, Talulo Ardassieral Luinilthar, this artefact was subsequently sold at auction, finding its way into various hands before serving dual roles. Initially, it functioned as a phylactery for a White Magi before being soul-bound by its current owner, Ori Suba. In a notable incident involving Lady Seraphine of House Serilian, the artefact fractured when her soul was detonated while buried deep within the skull of a deadly adversary. Subsequently, it was reshaped and re-enchanted by its current owner, Ori Suba. During the transmutation of the artefact, a fortuitous moment of enlightenment enabled an enhancement of the item's rank by three tiers.
>
> "Star by star, night ignites until darkness fades to dawn's first light."
>
> "This light is your servant, a beacon towards a freedom of your design."
Ori watched as Harriet shook her head in amazement when Seraphine’s Beacon materialised in his hand. It still radiated a soft white glow and a subtle warmth that Ori suspected might never fade. Within its cylindrical structure, there was a depth that seemed to simultaneously darken and brighten the light passing through the crystal-clear material.
“Thank you for the naming, and for allowing us the use of the Aether Rift,” Ori said, his voice filled with genuine gratitude.
“It’s just as well I did, it seems the Aether responded to the wishes of your heart, preserving the bond with your... friend, did it not?”
“Yeah, looks like it.” Ori could only agree, it was as if the name symbolised his promise, his intent crystalised in its form and function. It was the perfect tool for him, one that would grow with him and evolve as he needed, and as its name suggests, he could only hope it vastly raised his chances of reclaiming Seraphine's soul. “Also, could you tell me what happened to the sanctum? You mentioned something about the sanctum sparkling. I thought it was just my eyes, but I hope we didn’t break anything?”
“It's now called Eldarmars Sanctum of Harmonic Intervention. Essentially, your epiphany imbued the walls with your mysterious affinity, permanently enhancing the chamber for nearly any magic we might wish to perform.”
“Fate seems to be going hard on this Harmonic theme?”
“It is unusual; I’ve never known The Library of Fate to use the term 'harmonic' to describe anything, and common literature only refers to it when discussing other than Celestial, Astral, and Ethereal energies. However, your affinity is about as far from Ethereal as one can get, yet it’s still Harmonic. It's making me question everything I thought I knew.” She shook her head again and playfully smacked Ori's arm, water splashing between them. “Anyway, you’ve still not given me a gift. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that enchanted necklace around Poppy’s neck. I was almost green with envy when I named it.”
Ori laughed. “What did you name it?”
“Memories of a Maestro. You had it soul-bound for her, and upon naming, it jumped up a tier, becoming a Sovereign-ranked artefact worthy of a High Enchanter, which is preposterous for a mortal apprentice. So, where’s mine?” Harriet shot Ori an accusatory glare.
Ori sighed. “Well, I have something, or at least I will by tomorrow, but it’s for after Taurna’diem as you won’t be able to use it now. However, there is something I could give you. I wanted to do this when Poppy was here, and when I could properly get down on one knee, but…” Ori said, unsummoning Seraphine and reaching for his shirt beside the baths as he slid away from the Queen. She stood with a mix of intrigue and rueful understanding as water cascaded over her perfect High Elven form. Ori nearly lost himself as he gazed back at the dark-haired, deep blue-eyed vision before him, then remembered what he had made and what he wanted to do.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
He held out a silver wedding band, which caught the moonlight, turning its glinting edges blue, and lowered himself as close as he could to being on one knee in the waters of the bath.
“Harriet Anoriel Thalionwen Luinilthar, will you marry me?”
Harriet moved towards him and said, “Yes, I will, but…” Ori was puzzled as her hand wrapped around his and closed his open palm with the ring inside. “Legally, I cannot wear this ring until after an official ceremony, which I don’t believe you have time for, do you?”
Ori shook his head as his shoulders slumped. “We could elope?:
Harriet laughed. “Could you imagine? I doubt I’d survive the gossip, let alone the stuffy council’s warnings on protocol.” She sighed. “Please place it on a chain, and I’ll wear it as our promise.”
“A promise? So, like an engagement?”
“An engagement?” Harriet pondered.
“It’s a custom from my realm. It’s a promise to wed, usually represented by a more ornate engagement ring with diamonds and stuff. I should have made one of those, but I guess I felt like Taurna’diem was like already being married. With Poppy, I didn’t get the chance to ask her and make it official, something I intended to correct with these, but, yeah.”
“Don’t worry, wearing a ring on a chain signifies the same thing in our culture. You’d be—you are my consort to be, in elven law, Taurna’diem or not,” she said and kissed him.
They resettled themselves by the pool and chatted, their conversation meandering through a multitude of topics. Ori, seeking to know Harriet beyond her royal façade, asked about her upbringing and schooling as a crown princess. He delved into her responsibilities and the pressures of her early ascension, comparing it to his more mundane experiences. As the topics lightened, he inquired about her favourite colour. Harriet revealed it was blue, unsurprisingly, but she elaborated that her preference lay in the specific contrast between dark blues and metallics like gold and silver, which she found regally beautiful.
He continued his inquest and growing confused by the array of questions, Harriet asked, "Why ask me what my favourite meal is or favourite song when you’ll know most of that after Taurna’diem?"
Ori shook his head. "This is all still so mad. I never expected to be married within days of meeting someone. We have these dating periods that can last years before couples decide to get engaged. I guess I’m just grasping for something familiar, a sense of normalcy before my life changes again."
"Do you regret being bonded to Poppy? Or fear becoming bonded to me?" Harriet asked, her vulnerability apparent, which Ori hated to see in the young queen. He shook his head and pulled her close.
"You're mine, I’ve claimed you, remember? It’s a huge responsibility being bonded to someone like you, but I’m working on being worthy of it. And every day, I grow more confident that I’ll get there," he said, with his last day approaching soon his mind drifting towards his plans after the trial. "How about you? You’ve been tense and a bit distant lately. Having second thoughts?"
"No, not about the Taurna’diem or what comes after. It's just that, believe it or not, I'm grappling with all the political implications. You're quite the catch, but also quite the troublemaker. I often think it’s a good thing that I’m already at the Sovereign rank and have seven hundred years to prepare for your return else, I’d be completely overwhelmed. Being your bonded is a tremendous responsibility, one I will take as seriously as my reign," she said, turning to look at him as he spoke. He kissed her and held her close, their foreheads touching.
"This is why I need you. I’m so fortunate to have been the one to answer your summons."
"As am I to have been your summoner."
Ori suspected their display might seem as sentimental as any clichéd Regency romance novel, but this was his life now, and he was determined to snatch moments of peace from the eye of a hurricane and find joy wherever it was offered.
----------------------------------------
"So, you're saying I just pull on this thread?" Ori asked, standing at the edge of the crater in the dreaming. He held one of the gossamer lines of soul essence that connected him to fragments of Seraphine's Soul in one hand, and the glowing wand, Seraphine's Beacon, in the other.
Freya sighed like a disappointed parent. "Intent, Ori. You need to focus your will and shape it towards the outcome you desire. The act of pulling is merely an aid."
"And you're sure I don't need to dive in there and fish her out? Wouldn't that be easier?" Ori half-joked, partly to rile Freya, but also as an outlet for his own nerves and excited apprehension. After all, this night might be his only chance for some time to attempt this, and if unlucky...
"We'll try this first. It should be much easier with that glowing phallus you keep waving around."
"Hey! I'm still working on making glow sticks the latest fashion accessory. Soon it'll be known that if it isn't glowing, you're no wizard."
"What?"
"Never mind," Ori said, refocusing on his task. A single thread, one of many thousands of spider silk lining the crater wall, stretched downward into the ethereal abyss beyond his sight. "Okay, it's time to bring you home," he whispered, his emotions spilling into the astral as violet waves of aura bloomed against the colourless backdrop.
He pulled.
He pulled with his hands his astral muscles bunching with real exertion. He pulled with his mind; Vision of the Progenitor flaring to match the focus of the beacon he held. He pulled with his heart, murmuring repeatedly, "Time to come home, Sera." to the friend who had sacrificed her life to summon him, her soul to save him. All the while he pulled on a thread so impossibly thin and connected to something so weighty that if in reality, the fineness of the thread would have sliced through his fingers.
Instead, he endured the metaphysical pain with a grunt, his Astral form impervious in his dreams, his will focused enough to ignore the cost of the effort as he pulled.
The entire duration of the dream passed with Freya standing as a silent witness and guardian, her quiet support bolstering his resolve. As the dream concluded, a misshapen orb of light emerged from the void. It shimmered with soul essence and Ori recognised its familiar inquisitiveness and knew it to be a part of whom he sought. He collapsed, exhausted yet relieved, a solid path to retrieving Seraphine's fragmented soul now etched clearly in his mind.
"I'll be back the day after tomorrow," Ori said as the dream began to end.
"I'll leave hibernation after this dream and I'll be waiting."
"There might be heat around the Crucible, so keep yourself hidden until the coast is clear."
"And don't overestimate yourself, Ori. If there are too many of them outside, just wait them out. I'll have enough Peritia with all you've earnt, for me to cling on a little longer if need be," Freya argued.
Ori grunted. "Yeah, I'll figure something out either way. Just keep yourself safe, don't think I could go back out there knowing I'd be alone again." Ori confessed.
"No Ori, even if I don't make it, you will bend that prodigious luck of yours towards survival. You have far too much to live for and too many promises to keep."
Ori eventually nodded, her wise words the bitter medicine he needed, once more.
----------------------------------------
After a relaxing bath and a night with Harriet and Poppy in the queen's suite, Ori started the next day early, his list of tasks for his final day within the final trial long and ambitious. It was a collection of stretch goals topped with a handful of 'must-do or die trying' items that gave him butterflies just contemplating them.
The first item was what Ori internally referred to as the Dreamwalkers’ Crown. He planned to modify the original Dreamwalkers’ Ward enchantment to include a Mana Tap for easier recharging, a growth component that would scale the level of protection based on Harriet’s Grace, and a memory enchantment that, unlike Poppy’s necklace, would instead remind Harriet of how Ori saw her, complete with associated emotions, whenever her mood or determination flagged.
Ori intended to shape a silver circlet with sapphire settings using Echo Forging, before folding in the enchantments with Lesser Echo Print.
Within an hour, Ori was shocked to find that he had finished. The ease of the initial shaping, compared to his experiences the previous day with a harder material and a more complex level of structural detail—and the fact he no longer had the pain of near-Soulcrafting to contend with during the channelling process—meant that he could use a Split Mind to complete the inscription before the final layers of the item and the setting of the sapphires.
He had checked to see if Elven queens wore crowns using Freya’s rote knowledge; apparently, they did not, so Ori could only hope this would spark a trend.
He also completed various other enchanting tasks, including a bag containing a swarm of drone-like, aetheric anti-enchantment busters. Unsure of whether any trouble would befall their bonding and soulcrafting today, something Freya had mentioned about actions having consequences, as well as Harriet's general mood—one likely brought on by whatever premonitory messages she was feeling—gave Ori more than enough reason to come loaded for bear.
He contemplated learning a new enchantment skill, attempting the far more advanced spatial storage enchantments, or soul bonding another item, but due to a lack of good, meaningful options, limited time, and the fear of being stretched too thin as far as space within his soul for new bonds beyond Harriet’s Taurna’diem, Ori set those goals aside and called for Poppy to escort him to the Sanctum.
The walls and floors of the space now glittered. The liquid chaos of the Aether Rift’s blue radiance seemed to ripple and fizz upon the transmuted, mana-infused quartz dotted within the stone. Even the Astrologer markings etched into the floor danced with vibrancy and portent, giving the space a decidedly more cosmic edge.
He carried a burlap sack full of enchantments like a roguishly rugged, black Santa, though he only had three gifts within. As they approached a nervous-looking Queen, Ori’s heart couldn’t stop racing.
"Hey," he said, stopping beside a circular bed that Harriet perched at the end of.
Harriet managed a tight smile, and turned to Poppy, “Are the preparations in place?”
“Yes, I’ve recalled your brother and his familiar back to the residence. We have our strongest on guard, just as you requested.”
"Firstly," Ori turned towards Poppy and bent on one knee, palm outstretched holding a Rose Gold Ring that matched the fine necklace she currently wore. "Poppy, my bonded, would you do me the honour of your promise to be my wife?" Ori said, adjusting his words to suit Elven custom.
"I do," Poppy said, her easy smile wide and bright, joy filling his heart. She pulled him close and squeezed; Ori was certain he could feel vertebrae pop but he didn’t mind at all. After she released him, she unfastened the necklace and threaded it through the ring, the sight of both enchantments proudly visible around her neck sending a flush of goosebumps Ori hadn't expected.
He turned towards Harriet, this time offering her the silver-cobalt ring on a chain of matching material with a simple, “my beloved.”
Harriet stood and wore the ring, before disrobing everything else. “I’m ready, though I’m nervous,” she admitted.
Ori instinctively wrapped her up in his arms, hoping his warmth helped to offset her nerves, and joined her in undress on the bed.
For what must have been hours, they hugged, touched, and caressed each other until the entire world beyond them, even Poppy’s silent presence as a nearby sentinel, disappeared. His hands and mouth explored and claimed every inch of her perfect silken smooth skin, she trembled as he nibbled and licked, her most sensitive spots the tip of her ears, collar bone and sides of her chest. Like always whenever he was around her, only his will held him back from a near instant explosion, that feeling of need, tension, was one he projected bring Harriet to the edge by touch alone and keeping her there through the foreplay they should have had the first time they made love.
The care and curiosity, the gentle love and exploration of each other's bodies that had been missing in their earlier, lust-fuelled collisions of passion, was now present. They moved at their own pace, his appreciation for the woman growing beyond the physical beauty with every moment. It felt as if he was already on his way towards that soul-deep understanding and love for her, that the process of Taurna’diem and its physical intimacy requirements were merely distractions. So much so, that when he finally rolled on top of her and found himself thrusting into her tight, blissful warmth, it felt like the natural continuation of the emotional connection they had formed.
"Ori!" Harriet cried, less than a minute later.
"It’s okay, I’m here, let go and I'll catch you," Ori said, Vision of the Progenitor flaring as this time, Harriet's soul raced towards his own, a storm of Peritia so thick and turgid swirled around them that it moved the air with its metaphysical density. Ori thrust, his hips moving slower and deeper as Harriet’s face contorted into the biggest orgasm of her life. He felt the final inch of his length being drawn into that impossibly tight, inner world deep within her, and the surprise and pleasure sent him over the edge.
Their souls collided and their pages of fates were rewritten.
Harriet’s back arched as Taurna’diem bridged the emotions, sensations and experiences, their entire history flowing between them like a river of memories. Ori wept as he watched her mother die in the duelling arena, how her father never returned and a week later, was found dead. He saw how the young woman became queen, using her memory of her mother's strength as the mask she hid behind whenever she felt weak. He saw how dear Poppy was to her, counting upon her as the only person she trusted with her life until now.
Ori marvelled at the memories of her song, something so vital to understanding who she was, was vexed at his inability to participate in, and vowed to correct this inability at his nearest opportunity. And then he saw himself through her eyes.
He was hope. He was her future. And to his surprise, even her rule came second to their love. This shocked him, and where he might have expected Harriet to feel shame or self-recrimination at her apparent dereliction of loyalties, all Ori could find was a frightening conviction that her horizons had been too limited before and that entire Lunaesidhe might just be a footnote to his legend. And with that perspective, how could she find her reign more important than their relationship?
Shaken, Ori was pulled out of the trance of shared memories as he stared at Harriet's flushed face, who was still staring into the distance, tears streaming down her face.
He rolled them to his side cradling and caressing her as Poppy drew near, her face unusually pale.
Ori frowned. "What is it?"
"It's... The Library of Fates… There’s just been a realm-wide announcement. It doesn’t mention you by name, but Harriet, the entire Lunaesidhe knows that through Taurna’Diem, you have a new consort."
While Ori tried to work out the significance of such an event, the pressure of something vast and foreboding settled upon the entirety of the residence, and then the ground shuddered in dread.