She'd never been in so much pain. In all the fights and battles she'd been through, she'd never ached so badly, and when it did she just sealed her wounds. Now, though, she could see black, and only black. She couldn't concentrate on even opening her eyes, let alone casting a spell.
So instead, she concentrated on the darkness, probing through it with her mind's eye. The darkness was like thick underbrush, and pushing through it proved difficult, even mentally.
After what'd seemed like hours of searching, she found what she'd been looking for. She pushed the darkness away, and before lay a single fragment of light, which illuminated some of the darkness around her. She turned her concentration from the darkness to the light, and the fragment seemed to explode-
And Rena's eyes opened. She could see light now with her own eyes, and she could see herself as well. Around her were boxes, piled high around her. She tried to sit up, but the pain that pierced her head was almost great enough to knock her out again. She winced and gently laid her head back on the ground.
She pulled a berry out of her sack and chewed on it, wincing every time her jaw shut. As the pain in her head began to fade, she sat up again slowly. The soreness wasn't gone, but it had receded enough to where she could concentrate. She raised her hands and muttered something below her voice, and a white light enveloped her body. The pain began to fade immediately.
No sooner had the light faded that she felt another surge of energy from the other side of the boxes, merely feet from her. I can sense something…someone? To confirm her thoughts, the sources began to speak:
"It came from in here."
"Heraldry?"
"Maybe, but not like anything I've ever felt before."
"What do you mean, Lena?"
"It didn't feel like destructive magic. Maybe…I don't know. Pae, help me look around."
Rena leaned closer against a box as the girls searched through the room. The wall of boxes was stacked high, and she prayed that they wouldn't be so in-depth as to tear apart the wall in their search.
"Lena, what's wrong?"
Rena heard the first girl sigh. "What, is it obvious?"
The second girl hesitated. "You've just seemed, you know, out of it, since you returned."
"It's Celine, Pae."
"What about her?"
"We're going to exploit her, aren't we? Either that or blackmail her. Isn't she our sister too?"
Rena barely breathed, despite her fear. Did they really not know she was here? If not, she'd better pick up on whatever info she could.
"Isn't it important to your mission?"
"OUR mission is only important if it benefits us all. I don't want to exploit her!"
Rena heard hesitation.
"How do you know the rest of us want the same mission?"
The girl, Lena, had been moving, but Rena heard her stop. "What do you mean?"
"Lena, I don't want to go through with this, if the aftereffects are true."
Lena walked towards her. "Pae, what about all we've worked for? We've gone too far to back out now, and we need all of the sisters to complete the circle!"
"What about everyone else?"
"Our interests outrank theirs. Simple as that."
Pae sighed. "I suppose…"
"You'll see, Pae. Soon, we will complete what we've been working towards for so long."
Rena felt another surge. Someone else had entered the room.
"Lena, Pae, Chi needs us. The weapon is beginning to wear off, and she's going to wake up soon."
"We'll be right there, Ket."
"She needs us NOW."
Rena felt two energy surges. The third stayed for a moment, and then vanished. After she felt the surge, she stood and pushed over several boxes, enough to make a walkway. The rest of the room was full of boxes, aside from a small desk against the wall. There was no exit to the room, which meant trouble for Rena. All she could see were the boxes and the table, everything else was rock-laden wall.
On the table was a pad of paper and a quill. Seeing nothing she could do, she picked up the quill and began to write.
~