-Lady Moria
Chapter XXIX: The Kindred
Lady Moria lay awake, the Sorceress sleeping silently beside her, buried beneath the mountain of comforters and pillows that adorned her bed. Unlike the previous evening, when Teelina had laid her head on her shoulder, the Ancient Dereskian simply lay beside the redhead, occasionally running her fingers through her hair.
Despite having a beautiful woman, this woman who she had seduced for centuries, in her arms, the Dereskian Queen's thoughts were far from the present circumstances. They lingered instead in the dreamscape of the woman beside her, making sure that they were ordinary dreams only. She was very relieved to find it so, having guessed, correctly it seemed, that the previous evening's confession had nullified the one reason her sister could enter Teelina's dreams.
Moria, while being pleased to find this so, nevertheless felt a nagging doubt in the back of her mind. She sighed raggedly, knowing there was only one thing that she could do in order to appease her mind. She had to seek out her sister… a tedious process, to be sure, but the only one she knew of that would ease her doubts.
She rose from the bed, taking a last lingering look at the red-haired woman who lay upon it before sinking into the floor, appearing somewhere deep within the Sands of Time, but not in her own chambers. A light breeze picked up as she wandered slowly through what had once been her kingdom, recalling happier days and fond memories at every familiar-looking rock.
Slowly, she reached the ground of what had long ago been a mighty temple, built of shining marble and the most dazzlingly colored crystals that could be found. Now, it was a massive heap of rubble, covered in sand and hidden almost completely from view. The Dereskian Queen knelt down, brushing the sand off of what had once been the door, tracing the carved letters with her fingernails until they could be read. "Beaghey ny sodjey, Dereskígía," she whispered sorrowfully, the words cutting into her core, causing long-buried grief to rise unbidden to her mind. ((Long live the Dereskígía.)) She swallowed visibly, standing before the crumbled building and exhaling the pass code for entrance. "Socäre, múinntïr de Eläni." ((Enter, child of Eläni.))
A great chasm opened in the sand, the spell cast so long ago remembering its purpose at the call of the Queen. Moria peered into the darkness, her eyes whirling slowly as a staircase, long aged with disuse, revealed itself to her. She stepped forward, and descended into the holiest of temples, forgotten for over seven hundred years.
The Ancient woman found herself in a looming chamber, once sparkling marble now a dull and dingy color, a small amount of sand strewn over the floors as the spells to reduce such things had decayed over the years. Her hands raised in spell casting, settling on a section of wall and murmuring words the chamber knew very well indeed. She renewed every single incantation that had ever been placed on the temple, closing her eyes as amethyst light rippled from her hands and flashed around the temple. When she had finished, Moria opened her eyes, the floors and walls now shining and glittering as they had when first built. She smiled a little, and continued on her way, needing no torch to find her path in the darkened but spotless chambers.
Slowly, the Dereskian Queen approached the great alter, a great work of art carved out of the blackest obsidian, images of the entire history of the Dereskian people etched into it. She placed her hands upon it, closing her eyes as she invoked the ancient prayer of Eläni, the words falling from her lips with growing speed as the Highspeech of the Dereskígía flowed. "'Awed by Her brightness, stars near the beautiful Moon cover their own shining faces when She lights earth with Her silver brilliance…'"The words echoed around the chamber, gaining in volume and speed as she repeated the prayer over and over again, until the very words themselves seemed to become tangible and given form. They swirled around her as if having great wings, bidding her to lie upon the Ancient alter. Moria did so, lying supine upon the black obsidian, and the words grew so loud they were more similar to screams, and then dwindled down to become no more than whispers. Their tangible forms circled around her body, in front of her eyes, and she closed them, her head falling to the side as the words became translucent and passed directly through her body, slipping into the white haired woman's form and seizing her consciousness, separating mind from body and plunging her awareness to a place that no living body could ever enter.
Thus did her mental form, clothed in the densest of black silk, enter into the Eight Hell, and the chamber that the Sorceress had been brought to the previous evening. Her sister again sat in the throne, looking at her with wide blue eyes as Lady Moria's own amethyst ones grew into sharp focus.
"Caerlin!" exclaimed the woman in the chair, not bothering to use her mind voice as her sister stood before her. She rose immediately, her sheer white garment fluttering with the movement, and all but ran into her sister's arms.
The elder twin gasped suddenly as she was swept into a tender embrace, the dead woman's arms enveloping her like a blanket. "Moria…" she answered in kind, whispering softly, closing her eyes. Her hands slowly curled around her sister's form, trailing her fingers through her hair softly. "It feels so wonderful to hold you…." Her voice was soft and breaking with held back tears, not allowing them to fall as she held the one woman she had ever truly loved.
Moria, the true Moria, sighed gently and held her sister for a long moment before bringing her lips to hers and kissing the elder woman deeply. The Dereskian Queen sighed a little into the embrace, entangling her fingers in her beloved's hair before forcing herself to pull away. She lay her head on her younger sister's shoulder, relishing the wonder of holding her again. "I cannot stay…" she murmured gently, more than a little regretful.
The dead woman sighed softly, caressing the woman she knew as Caerlin and running her fingers through her hair. "I know…. You must remain living, for now. You'll have to depart soon…" She kissed the Dereskian Queen 's cheek lovingly, sighing again. "And I do not imagine you went through the process of getting here just to hold me."
Amethyst eyes closed softly as the elder woman only shook her head in reply, a ragged sigh escaping her lips. "Despite how much as I would prefer otherwise…." She pulled away slowly, meeting the ice blue eyes she had loved for the majority of her lifetime, and all of what she thought counted of it. "Had I a choice, my sister, I would never leave your side again…"
A fine eyebrow over a blue eye arced gently as the original Moria regarded her elder sister. "No? But why not? You have the Sorceress now." The words were soft, tender, but with the tiniest bit of hurt in her tone, so small that no one who did not know her well would have heard it. Her sister, of course, knew her better than anyone.
The Dereskian Queen looked at her dead lover for a long moment. "Moria…" she said in a tone just as soft, her tone gravely serious "my relationship with the Sorceress is not about love. It isn't even really about lust. It is about mutual benefits, and what, as the two most powerful women on the planet, we can do together. That does not, in any way, shape, or form, mean that I love her." The words were factual, hard and unfeeling, with no extra emotions thrown in as amethyst eyes stared into blue.
The dead woman caressed her sister's cheek softly, relishing in the feeling as she smiled sweetly. "I did not mean to make it sound as if I were jealous, my love. That is one of the good things about being departed from that world in which one is alive. I am beyond the pain of the mortal realm." The elder Dereskian seemed a little surprised, and so the younger continued. "I have no reason to condemn your relations with that woman, my sister," she said gently, lovingly. "Seven hundred and sixty-eight years is far too long for any living person to wait. Do not think I resent your indulgence, and do not think I denounce it." The elder woman looked as if she wanted to interrupt, but Moria shushed her, regarding her beloved and patting her cheek affectionately. "You are not yet dead, my sweet. When, at last, you become so, I will be here, and I will be waiting for you. Until that time, though, I want you to live. If that means sharing a bed with the Sorceress, despite what pain that will cause in the future, then so be it."
"The future…" the elder woman repeated, looking into the blue eyes so loved so much. "The future is why I came."
The dead woman regarded her elder sister slowly, her eyes wide as realization dawned upon her. "You've Seen it, haven't you? You know your future, and that's why you've come."
A single nod of the Dereskian Queen's head was her answer, the amethyst eyes turned away, slowly parting from her sister's embrace.
Her sister looked at her for a long moment, the dead woman's eyes locked on the one formerly known as Caerlin's form. "…You've seen what will happen, you know very well what shall come to pass if you and the Sorceress… continue in the fashion you are doing. As I've said, I do not condemn that, but still…. Caerlin, if you know what will happen, then why–?"
"Because what will be, what I have Seen, would happen regardless of whomever I choose to bed, Moria, and you know it." The elder woman's eyes flashed gently as her gaze rose back to meet that of her dead lover. "It doesn't matter how idiotic those 'Masters' are, eventually, they will discover that I have a weakness, and they will exploit it. That will happen no matter what relationships I can make." Her younger sister looked as if she wanted to say something, but the Dereskian Queen cut her off, continuing to speak.
"Yes, my sister. I know. I have Seen what will happen. And…" she paused, slowly sighing before admitting her goals. "I intend to change it. The Sorceress is the only person alive who can help me to do that, and so I need her. The future I have Seen will not come to pass. It must not come to pass."
Blue eyes opened widely in sheer shock as the original Moria's mouth fell open in speechlessness. She finally found her voice, looking at her sister disbelievingly. "Change it?" she questioned, thinking her sister quite mad and shaking her head incredulously. "You cannot change the preordained future! Not unless you're willing to–" She gasped as comprehension dawned, gaping at the elder woman. "You wouldn't!"
Her sister regarded her slowly, her own amethyst eyes cool and factual as she spoke. "I would, and I will."
Fire spun from the younger twin's gaze as she almost spat out her reply. "The Sorceress would never agree to that, Caerlin, and you damned well know it!"
"The Sorceress will not know about this until it is too late." The words came pouring out of the elder Dereskian, her tone commanding as her demeanor suddenly shifted, her stance speaking every inch of the Queen she had been. Moria looked to interrupt, but her living sister cut her off yet again, her voice regal and final. "I will not let her die, do you understand?"
The dead woman's eyes flashed with ice blue fire, and Evil-Lyn's mother was reminded of the fact that this was the only woman whom she did not control. "You would risk your soul, your complete and utter existence to save the life of one woman? You would throw away everything you love, every hope you hold dear, even the chance to spend eternity after your death here with me in order to spare her from the fate which Eläni herself has sent her?"
Silence filled the chamber as the woman once known as Caerlin looked, almost apologetically, at her sister, her reply the barest audible whisper. "Yes…"
Looking slowly away, unable to meet her sister's amethyst gaze, the younger woman slowly nodded, sighing not a little sorrowfully. "I see…. Such a thing has been done in the past, at the dearest imaginable cost, yes, but it has been done, …if that is what you came here to know."
The Dereskian Queen nodded a little, swallowing visibly and caressing her sister's cheek gently. "I actually came to ask to you to stop interfering with Teelina's dreams." Before the blue-eyed woman could interrupt, she continued. "And the reason is simple. As you said, Moria, if the Sorceress knew what I was intending, she would never agree to it, therefore she cannot, she must not know until it is absolutely necessary. Promise me, please, that you won't tell her."
"…I promise." The dead woman looked slowly at the only person she truly loved, and kissed her pale cheek gently. "For your sake as well as mine, I hope you change your mind, my love. Or, I pray, something changes without having to make so great a sacrifice."
Wrapping her arms around her sister, the elder woman sighed softly, memorizing the feeling of her beloved in her arms as she was already being pulled back into the realm of the living. "So do I." She tilted her head and brought her lips to her sister's, kissing her deeply as her dream form slowly faded away. "I love you, my sister… wait for me…" her voice whispered softly, repeating the words her sister had spoken at the moment of her death.
The deceased woman returned the kiss, her eyes open and memorizing every contour of her sister's face as she vanished in her arms, sighing gently when she had completely left her. She spoke then, knowing her sister could no longer hear her but speaking anyway, echoing her sister's reply to her request made so long ago. "Of course I will. I always will…. I love you… Moria, for all that was Caerlin has long since departed from you…."
And there, deep within the inner sanctum of Helyuin, the Eighth Hell, the eternal resting place for parted lovers, the sister of the Dereskian Queen waited.
…………………………..
Moria, the Queen of the Dereskígía and mother of Evil-Lyn, slowly opened her eyes from where she lay upon the great stone altar. She became aware of a clear liquid flowing freely from beneath her and onto the obsidian, and knew without a second thought that she was bleeding.
This was not completely unexpected, as she had known one of the living could not venture among the dead without paying a brutally taxing price upon one's physical form. She let out a soft hiss of pain as she slowly realized every part of her the magic incantation had passed through to send her to Helyuin had ripped through her, causing deep, monstrously devastating gashes to appear over her entire body, many of which probably would have killed her had she been anyone not in direct line with Eläni Herself.
As it was, Moria lay there for a long moment, weakened from blood loss and not really able to move all that much, letting her head fall back against obsidian as her eyes closed, whispering a few soft incantations. She knew it would only be enough to sustain her for a few moments, revitalizing her strength just enough so she could undergo complete healing.
She never got the chance.
Hands not her own fell over her body, causing her to gasp out in shock that anyone but her even knew this place existed, before it registered to open her eyes. She did, but could see nothing as a great burst of light burst before her eyes. Moria cringed at such a massive display of power, wondering who on the planet could possibly create so enormous an incantation. She did not have long to wonder before the words of whoever was above her crashed over her body, the great light, so powerful she could not even see a color to it, fell upon her, entering every crevice of her body, even her eyes and then doing their desired intent. The spell flashed within her, and Moria's mouth opened as her entire body hummed, the incantations finally ceasing as the light receded, leaving her breathless, panting, and whole.
She had been healed. The realization dawned upon her, and in that instant, she knew who it was above her without even having to look. "Ríoghan mez Eayst …" My Lady of the Moon she breathed out quietly, a sense of silent awe overcoming her as her eyes opened, locking with those of the being above her, her eldest and most spectacular kinswoman.
Eläni looked back.
She gazed down upon Her descendant with little to no emotion upon the features She currently wore. She appeared as a similar vision to Moria herself, with differing facial characteristics and eyes that swirled between many different colors, not only the maroon, blue or amethyst of the Dereskígía. The Ancient Goddess was clothed in a cloak with a cowl, it's color a red so deep as to appear almost black. Moria slowly rose from atop the altar, standing to her feet and bowing her head, her amethyst eyes locked on the floor.
-Mez deänia- came the reply, and Her 'voice' echoed around the chamber somehow both in reality and within the mind as She called the Queen 'my daughter.' A hand reached upwards and caressed Moria's cheek gently, Her touch causing small tingles to form over the woman's skin. Eläni cupped Her descendant's chin, and slowly lifted it until Moria's eyes locked with Her own.
She smiled softly, having seen the entirety of Moria's journey into the Eighth Hell and overhearing the conversation with her sister. -You seek to defy Me,- Her words echoed, 'spoken' in Highspeech. -Why?- Despite the severity of Her words, She smiled softly, Her eyes betaking genuine affection for the kinswoman before Her.
Moria Vadorian swallowed almost audibly at the Goddess before her. "I find the future I have Seen in my dreams to be not to my liking, my Lady. I do not wish to defy You, only to perhaps change what I have Seen," she replied softly, speaking in the Highspeech of the monarchy.
-And if what you have Seen is but My will, would you still seek to alter it?- Eläni's eyes flashed a little, their hue a gold and orange blue of color.
Her descendent met them unblinkingly as she answered without pause, her answer the same as it had been to her twin. "Yes."
The Goddess smiled a little, Her fingertips caressing the Queen's neck softly. -Caerlin… No. Moria, Queen of the Dereskígía and daughter of Alessena- She corrected, Her eyes smiling as they pinwheeled into the amethyst hue of the woman before Her. -You will need Me, if you intend to do what you say you will. And when it comes that you do need Me, simply breathe out My name, and I will hear. I can provide no assistance in the changing of your vision, but I will not hinder you if you insist upon altering it. The death of the one you seem so intent to save was never My will. Know this, and remember, Moria, child of Vadïa.-
She removed Her hands from the Queen's skin, and was gone as quickly as she had come.
The Dereskian Queen inhaled a little raggedly, and then closed her eyes, her breathing uneven but she was otherwise fine. Moria opened her eyes slowly, and took one last look around what had been the great temple, and sank into the ground, reappearing within her own chambers and sitting upon her usually untouched bed, and lost herself in meditations.