Title: Gin'yoku (Silvery Wings)
Author: weeping-willow
Date: November 24, 2002
Chapter: 1- "Into the Book"
Spoilers: Until end of TV series
Setting: 10 years in the book
after the series ends (approx. 6 months in real world)
Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi or anything else mentioned in this
fic. Yuu Watase owns FY, Tolkien owns Legolas (and any other LOTR material).
Description: Rei, a practicing Wiccan, receives a book in the mail and performs the spell included... Next thing she knows, she's inside the book!
Rating: PG-13 for violence, swearing, etc.
Distribution: Not without asking, please. :) Either get permission
first, or put a link to this page.
Contact: queenofthebandgeeks@hotmail.com
Author's Notes: This is my rewrite of this fic, which I posted a while
ago. :) If you find Wicca/Witchcraft/Paganism offensive, stop reading this
right now. Wicca is a harmless earth-based religion, and has nothing to do with
Satanism. I don't want flames because you are Christian and can't accept other
people's religions. The Wiccan characters in this fic are not devil
worshippers. Okay? Is that clear? Good. :) And I only include the essential
openings of a ritual so that you will know what I'm talking about in future
chapters. It's not going to be a common thing. :) They do live in the U.S., but
as the girls are taking Japanese at school, they chose names in Japanese for
their magickal names. I will also have definitions at the bottom of the page if
you don't know a Japanese or Wiccan term. Please read and review, and enjoy! :)
Gin'yoku (Silvery Wings)
Chapter One: "Into The Book"
Rei leaned forward on her hands and sighed inwardly as her geometry teacher, Mrs. Vogt, droned on about translating with vectors. Her friend Ame leaned over from the desk to Rei's left and whispered, "Sacred Woods Coven meeting tonight, right?"
Rei nodded and whispered back, "I wrote this really awesome ritual for the Esbat!"
Ame grinned. "I'll tell Kaze, Moeru, and Tsuchi."
Mrs. Vogt looked over at them, her glittering eyes narrowed and her long, crooked nose wrinkled in distaste. "Is there a problem, ladies?"
"Yes, is there Amy?" Rei asked seriously.
Ame faked astonishment. "Why, I don't know Tara."
The two of them collapsed into giggles while Mrs. Vogt stared disapprovingly. After a moment, she went back to the lesson. "To translate correctly you must measure the angle..."
*~*~*~*~*
That night at Rei's house, five girls assembled. They all wore flowing white gowns, lacy and light. Over their dresses they all had thick black cloaks, for protection against negativity and the cold, both.
The girls stood around a stump from a tree struck dead by lightning- their altar- which had all the ritual items needed arranged carefully on the surface. The altar was the center of a giant pentagram traced in the dirt. Four of the girls, Tsuchi, Kaze, Moeru, and Ame; stood at opposite ends of the circle, one at each cardinal compass point. Rei stood in front of the altar, facing north.
She picked up the athame set on the right side of the stump and walked towards Tsuchi, who was at the north end of the circle. Rei stopped at the very edge of the circle, where her feet had so many times before traced the path around the star in the pentagram. While standing there, in front of Tsuchi and still facing north, Rei took the well-known Goddess position. She drew in energy for a moment or so, then began to cast the magick circle. She held the athame out in front of her, and a blue light flowed from it. This was the energy one uses to create a magick circle. Rei walked deosil around the circle thrice, all the while chanting, "We now invite the guardians of the quarters and the Gods alike to attend this magickal rite. We honor you and ask you to witness this work upon this eve. O Gracious Lord and Lady, Father and Mother of all life, Guard us and guide us within this magickal circle and without it; In all things. So Mote It Be!
"Here I cast the boundary of our Circle of Power. Naught but love shall enter it. Naught but love shall emerge from within. Charge this Circle by your powers, O Gracious God and Goddess! So Mote It Be!"
Finished, Rei walked back to her place at the altar. It was Tsuchi's turn to help open the ritual, with the next act: calling the quarters. She held out her arms and chanted as Rei lit the forest green candle sitting at the very north edge of the altar: "Thou Spirits of the North. Gnomes of the Earth. Lords of Mystery, Growth, Fertility. Bringer of Abundance, Birth, and Healing. Teachers of Nature, Consideration, and Mother Earth's endless Bounty."
The five girls then chorused together, "We do call thee here, be with us, attend this Circle, and aid us in our rite; Charge this Circle and Bless it with your Power. So Mote It Be!"
Tsuchi dropped her hands to her side, walked up to the first point on the pentagram, crouched down, and lit the white candle resting there. She then turned around so she was facing inward, towards Rei and the center of the circle.
Kaze went next. While Rei lit the yellow candle sitting on the east side of the altar, Kaze performed the same actions as Tsuchi, from her east point on the circle as she recited, "Thou Spirits of the East. Sylphs of the Air. Lords of Intellect, Communication, Concentration. Powers to Know, to Understand, and to Unlock the Secrets of the living and the dead. Bringer of Wisdom, Memory, and Prophecy."
The girls chorused again, "We do call thee here, be with us, attend this Circle and aid us in our rite; Charge this Circle and Bless it with your Power. So Mote It Be!"
Kaze went and lit the white candle at the second point on the giant pentagram, then returned to her place.
It was now Moeru's turn, to call the south quarter. Meanwhile, Rei lit the red candle at the south side of the altar. Moeru spoke out, "Thou Spirits of the South. Salamanders of Fire. Lords of all Energy, Purification, Courage, and the will to Dare. Creativity, Success, and Refinement. Bringer of the Arts, Transformation, Loyalty, and Contact with our higher-self."
Moeru led the chorus, "We do call thee here, be with us, attend this Circle, and aid us with our rite; Charge this Circle and Bless it with your Power. So Mote It Be!"
The third white candle was lit, and Ame took the last quarter as its corresponding blue candle was lit on the altar, "Thou Spirits of the West. Undines of the Water. Lords of Intuition, Emotions, and the Inner-Self. With the powers to Cleanse all things, with Love, Sympathy, and Reflection. Keepers of the Tides of Life, of Dreams, and of Dream-Time."
For the final time that night, they recited together, "We do call thee here, be with us, attend this Circle, and aid us in our rite; Charge this Circle and Bless it with your Power. So Mote It Be!"
Ame lit the fourth candle on the pentagram and stepped back into place. Rei lit the last candle, meant for the fifth element Akasha (no, not the "Queen of the Damned"! It stands for Spirit.) and completed the pentagram.
All five girls chanted, "This Circle is now cast. We are between worlds. Beyond the bounds of time. Where night and day, birth and death, joy and sorrow meet as one. So Mote It Be!"
Rei quietly invoked the God and Goddess for their ritual. Starting with the God, she lit the gold candle resting in the middle of the right side of the altar and murmured, "We do call you Lord. Father of all things. The Horned God dancing with the Lady through the woods at midnight. We beseech you, come now and join us in this rite. Aid us in our workings tonight and in all things. Come, God!" The flame flickered bright and rose as the God joined them in the Circle.
Next, the Goddess was to come. Rei lit the silver candle in the same area as the God's candle, only on the left side of the altar. Rei called to her softly: "We do call you Lady. Mother of the Earth and all its Creatures. The Maiden, Mother, and the Crone leading the Lord through the cycle of rebirth. We beseech you, come now and join us in this rite. Aid us in our workings tonight and in all things. Come, Goddess!" The Goddess stepped gently into the circle and stood next to the God.
The coven was ready to begin their ritual for the Esbat. (You can read a sample at http://www.janictradition.org/fm-sept.html).
When the ritual was finished, they released the deities and the quarters to go if they so wished, and the Circle was closed. The coven moved into Rei's living room, where they had the traditional "cakes and ale" (in this case, cookies and juice). They chatted about the ritual, school, and just how cute Orlando Bloom was in the LOTR movies as Legolas! Then, the girls burnt their wishes in a cauldron like they did every full moon. Soon after it was about 1 am and definitely time for bed.
*~*~*~*~*
The 14-year old Witches woke up early and went to school- a normal occurrence for members of the Sacred Woods coven. What wasn't normal was the strange package Rei received in the mail that same day.
As soon as Rei got home from school it was sitting outside on the porch, along with the rest of the mail. The package was wrapped in ordinary-looking brown paper, but it was still curious, as nobody at her house was expecting a package. As she sorted through the mail, she noticed her name, her magickal name for that matter, was scrawled on the front in messy Japanese characters. Her crimson eyes narrowed in puzzlement, and she leaned in to take a closer look. Rei noted the lack of return address. Still, she cautiously opened the package.
Its contents were a book (written in Japanese) and a note accompanying the book, also in Japanese, and the same handwriting as of the person who wrote her name on the paper. Impatient, Rei brushed her sun-bleached white hair out of her eyes as she thought annoyed to herself, I wish I hadn't agreed to get my hair cut chin-length... It's always falling in my eyes! Quickly she took out a couple of barrettes and clipped her bangs back.
Taking out a pen and a piece of paper, Rei easily deciphered the note into readable English, so she wouldn't have to think every time she wanted to read it. It was fortunate she'd been taking Japanese ever since third grade. When she was finished, the note read:
I need your help. Perform this
spell tonight at midnight, while the moon still has the powers of the full moon.
You are the only one powerful enough to do this alone, which is required.
Tell no one, for it will destroy the magick.
A Friend.
Confused, Rei picked up the note and discovered a piece of paper hidden beneath it, detailing a complex ritual on its surface. "What the...?" she muttered to herself, staring at it. None of this made any sense.
Alone... Only I am powerful... I need a phoenix statue? There's no specific point to this... This is dangerous! Rei concluded, fearful of what the package had brought her.
Rei walked over to the fireplace and was about to toss the note, the ritual, and the book inside, to be consumed by the merry dancing flames, but something stopped her. A wave of ice passed through her body, making her tremble. Rei doubled over and backed away from the fire, stunned and terrified. Her normally ruby-red eyes flickered an icy blue for a moment. She straightened up and strode purposefully over to her materials, ready to perform the spell.
*~*~*~*~*
Rei followed the instructions down to the smallest detail. It was raining, so she went up to the attic, her indoor magickal place. After casting the circle, she called the quarters differently then normal, with the guardians of each quarter being Genbu, Byakko, Suzaku, and Seiryuu. Different tradition or religion, she reasoned to herself, completely in denial.
Instead of invoking the God and Goddess as she would normally have done, Rei lit a purple candle sitting in the middle of the altar and called again upon the unseen Suzaku. She shuddered slightly, feeling an unnatural breeze blowing through the normally warm and cozy attic. Hesitantly Rei continued.
When the task was near completion, Rei felt a wrench in her gut. She instinctively closed her eyes. A moment later, she opened them to a most shocking sight.
Rei was floating above a sunny courtyard in bright daylight, with a pond three feet below. She fell unceremoniously onto the ground right beside the body of water, her fingers just grazing the water's edge. "Itai..." Rei muttered painfully in Japanese, as was her habit. Then Rei came to her senses. "Yahh!" she yelped as she leapt to her feet and brushed herself off. "Oh Goddess... where am I?" she whispered fearfully.
"Intruder! Who are you?!" The shout from behind Rei made her jump, and she slowly turned around to see a teenage boy, approximately 18 years old, with raven-colored hair tucked up in a box-like hat, and dark soulful brown eyes, staring quizzically at her.
In Tokyo, Yuuki Miaka felt a little shiver go up her spine as she sat in the stuffy high school classroom, but she dismissed it as nothing important.
She wasn't the only one to feel it. Miaka's boyfriend Taka, her friend Hongo Yui, Miaka's brother Keisuke, and Keisuke's friend (and Yui's boyfriend) Tetsuya all felt it, too.
Keisuke and Tetsuya, who were hanging out at the Yuuki's house, came up with one conclusion instantly. "The Book!"
Ugh, you have NO IDEA how long it took me to get the coding for just this first chaper right!!! Just like I promised, here's some definitions.
Wicca/Witchcraft/Paganism Terms
Sacred Woods Coven: The name of the coven that Rei, Kaze, Moeru, Ame, and Tsuchi have. A coven is a group of Witches who practice the Craft together.
Esbat: A celebration of the lunar cycle. Most often the full moon, but sometimes the new moon, too.
pentagram: The religious symbol of Witches and Wiccans. Consists of a five-pointed star surrounded by a circle. Often referred to as a pentacle, which is truly a pentagram worn as a necklace.
athame: Religious knife, usually w/ black handle, used for 'cutting' things not on this plane. Often used for opening & closing magick circles, as is the wand.
magick circle: A protective and holy circle cast around oneself and their ritual space for protection during rituals.
deosil: clockwise
element: The five elements, as represented on the pentagram. Four are also the quarters (Earth for North, Air for East, Fire for South, and Water for West), and Akasha (Spirit) is the fifth.
God and Goddess: The two main deities in Wicca, symbolizing equal halves and balance.
magickal name: Very often, a Witch/Pagan/Wiccan will choose a magickal name to use, either to share with other practicing members, or to keep only to themselves and the Gods.
Japanese Terms
Itai: Ow!