Chapter 3 of 4 Posted April 23
The temple gardens were hardly the worst place to stick an out of control witch-power, Kir mused, passing the well and heading along the path Devek's niece had described. Anur and he didn't need that description though – the spiking pressure against their mental shields was clue enough they were drawing closer.
:I'm amazed no one in Valdemar can hear her,: Anur grumbled, rubbing his temples, :I am going to need enough headache tea to drown in after this.:
:I think you'll have to split it with her.:
:Ugh.:
:Do you think it'll work for Companions?: Aelius asked hopefully, :She's hitting new octaves of – oh ow, ow my poor brain…:
Kir steadied Anur when he stumbled over nothing and carefully expanded his shields to include Anur more thoroughly. "Might be best for you to stay here," Kir suggested, at least some of the tension leaving Anur's frame.
"Going to at least make it within sight," Anur grumbled, eyes still tighter than the glare of the afternoon sun would call for, "Come on, Kir, let's get that shield necklace on her. Sunlord I hope that helps."
"If it doesn't we're going to have to call Kari, I can't make stronger in any decent amount of time," Kir replied, running his thumb over the cord wrapped Sun-in-Glory he'd been working on on the ride out here. He hadn't needed to wrap his mind with anchored shields in years, but it had taken time for him to work out how to keep sufficiently strong shields around his mind waking and sleeping and he'd never forgotten how to build those anchors.
He carried one around his neck, after all.
Etching runes into the metal Sun-in-Glory disc had been enough to enhance his own mental shields when he'd needed the help but to build shields from scratch for a stranger – he'd had to add to it. String magic had only ever been a hobby, but if there was one thing he could do with it, it was strengthen and build on already present spells with knots and braids of cord. Figuring out the pattern had taken most of the ride here, he'd only managed to tie the final knots around the disc and braid the ends through the wooden chain he'd taken from Anur's stash when they passed through the town walls.
Devek's niece had immediately intercepted them, having apparently been lying in wait for her uncle to return with help, and between hurried greetings and bows of respect and babbled summaries of what sort of progress had been made, they'd been able to pass the horses off to Devek and Markov and head straight for the girl in question. The local priest's shields had helped, from what Anya said, but required frequent rebuilding and didn't do any good if people got too close to her friend. As it was the priest was the only one able to get within a few feet of her without causing her pain, and even that he could apparently only manage after building his personal shields up for nearly a mark.
Judging by the pressure on their own shields, they'd be able to do better, but only because their shields were meant for this purpose – Father Olerus was undoubtedly calling on half-remembered lessons to defend against coercion and scrying spells and then trying to rework them to suit. Not ideal, in any way.
Rounding a low hedge he paused, briefly examining the etchings Olerus had used to anchor his shields before turning his attention to the girl in question.
She looked ill, of course. Dark rings under her eyes and hands verging on trembling, murmuring prayers under her breath but interrupted with asides responding to words only she could hear – no, the girl did not look well. Days without sound sleep and what she did get spent outside in the temple gardens, interrupted by nightmares and dreams not her own? He wouldn't be surprised if she actually did become ill after this, her body was suffering just as badly as her mind. Some enterprising individual had given her material for whittling and she'd been at it for some time, if the stack of buttons on the ground in front of her was any indication.
It didn't take more than a glance at Anur for the Herald to nod agreement and take a step back, a meaningless gesture when it came to how loud his presence would be, but she at least wouldn't feel physically crowded.
Taking a moment to reinforce his own shielding with willpower and fire, he forced a pained grimace from his face and stepped into the shielded circle.
She didn't so much as glance at him, but Kir wasn't surprised. With her mind in such overdrive, she probably was barely aware of the knife in her hands, much less the physical world around her. She was relying on her out of control talent to warn her when people were about, and telling the difference between a shielded mind and no mind at all took practice.
Crouching in front of the bench she was seated on, he reached out and rested a hand on hers – the one holding the knife, he didn't fancy getting stabbed when she registered there was another person so close to her.
A sharp inhale, and brown eyes shot from his hand to his face and she paled, knife and wooden block falling from her fingers. "You're quiet," she whispered, before flinching suddenly as the pressure on his shields spiked. She must have instinctively reached for him and only found the people outside the garden became louder – but that flinch drew her eyes to Anur and he could practically see the hope start to build, "He's quiet too."
"Indeed," Kir said calmly, holding out his knotwork bound Sun-in-Glory to her, "And my hope is that this will shield your mind for long enough we can teach you to be quiet."
"I'm loud?" she asked blankly, before shaking it off and shuddering as she met Kir's eyes again, muttering, "Of course I'm loud, it's the only way I can hear myself – ma stop crying hysterics won't help anyone!"
"Ah – that would probably be our fault," Anur said ruefully, Kir not quite able to respond to a snapped command to a woman he'd never seen and was nowhere near. There was growing used to hearing mental voices not his own, understanding that there was nothing truly wicked in Talents, and there was treating them as a matter of course.
They would do it, they had to. But it would take time.
"Your fault?" she asked, swaying slightly on the bench and Kir didn't bother waiting any longer, taking the cord-threaded chain and looping it around her neck, the knot-and-rune anchored spells flaring against his senses as the working activated.
She acted like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head, jolting upright and eyes widening, "They're gone," she whispered, "The voices are gone."
"Not permanently," Kir reminded her, standing, "That's just to hold your mind from others until we can teach you to do it yourself – and Ari's sake, don't take that off."
"Never," she swore, hand pressing the medallion to her chest, an exhausted joy in her eyes, "Thank you, Your Holiness – oh dear. That would explain ma's hysterics."
Kir's lips twitched at her utterly matter-of-fact tone, her eyes locked on the gold-lined black edging his robes and he couldn't help but respond in kind, saying blandly, "Yes, well. Takes one to catch one and all that."
Anur barked a laugh and the girl, much to his surprise, hid a giggle behind her hand, looking up to meet his eyes again and saying, "I think Anya mentioned you – or at least her uncle did – but I don't remember how. I'm Cora Varus."
"Kir Dinesh, Firestarter of the First Order, Chaplain of the 62nd," Kir replied, "And this is my Enforcer, Lieutenant Anur Bellamy."
"Pleasure to meet you, Holiness," she said, swaying when she stood and Kir quickly steadied her, not commenting on the near white-knuckled grip she had on his sleeve. Anur came up on her other side, saying, "Anywhere in particular we're heading, or were you just tired of this same bench?"
"Thought I'd find my parents," Cora said faintly, still swaying slightly and Kir grimaced, she was going to be in no shape to learn mental shielding for a day or two, if that.
"Well you certainly need food and sleep before we can teach anything," Anur agreed, "Parents are probably the best source of that right now, but I think we can safely assume they're rushing here – "
"Cora!" a woman with Cora's hair and build had reached the well and froze, hand rising to her mouth and Kir could practically see the rush of panic the mother was fighting off at the sight of witch-hunters holding her daughter.
"Oh I'm so glad I can't hear her right now," Cora murmured, wincing, "Ah – Your Holiness? Could you help me get to her?"
"Certainly," Kir agreed, Anur taking her other elbow and between the two of them, they were able to keep Cora upright long enough to walk her towards her mother. They didn't have to make it the entire way, as once they'd gotten more than a few steps her mother had regained enough composure to rush towards them.
Even with that frantic worry, the woman paused a few steps from them and offered a deep bow, saying hurriedly, "Your Holiness, Enforcer, thank you – Cora!" before reaching forward and hauling her daughter into her arms, burying her face in her hair and not quite able to stop her quarter-turn to keep Cora's back from facing him. Kir couldn't blame her, and was honestly more than impressed that she'd managed to approach without spitting curses or shying away in terror.
:We'll have to wait until tomorrow at the earliest before we can teach her anything – on that note, what are we teaching her?: Anur asked, taking a step back from the now crying pair and Kir was quick to follow his lead. Hopefully the father would show up – if he was around, granted – or even better, the local priest. He needed to find out where the nearest traveler's chapel was and make sure Olerus wasn't going to get in the way of Cora's instruction.
:Shielding,: Kir said, raising an eyebrow in Anur's direction but Anur just returned the gesture.
:That's it? No how to call for help, here's how to avoid crippling anyone else when you panic, here's how to recognize signs in others – just shielding?:
:If she wants to learn more she can come to Sunhame,: Kir said, suppressing the urge to shrug, :Shielding is enough for her to make her own choices going forward.:
:What if she doesn't want to be a priestess?: Anur pointed out, :Is there any option for people like that?:
:…not currently. I suppose we'll have to raise that with Solaris too.:
:Too? Markov's anchored curses, and this, right?:
:And Herald Lenora, the Midsummer deadline with the Lord Marshal, Furies still showing up despite her banishing them from the country, the warding on the catacombs coming due, the mercenaries scheduled to show up soon, getting Etrius training to find secret caches in the archives, Anika's Oasis nearly being cleared, the Hardornen border cleansing still holding – it's been a busy six weeks, Anur.:
Anur had pinched the bridge of his nose the moment Kir got to the Furies, muttering curses under his breath as he realized just how much had happened in the past six weeks. Certainly, their meetings with Solaris often took an entire afternoon, but the past couple of times that had been more due to them enjoying each others' company than actually having that much material to cover. Depending on what crises had come up in Sunhame while they were gone, their next meeting could very well last all day.
"Ah – Father Kir?" Koshiro's expression could only be described as bemused, looking between the two of them as he walked up, "Markov says there's another anchor. And apparently he and Father Olerus have a history of threatening each other with evisceration."
"What," they both said flatly.
:So,: Aelius said delicately, :About Jkatha…:
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"I think the most impressive thing – move! – is that you infuriated people enough to invest decades of work into these curses with no guarantee of payoff – Koshiro! Three steps in!" Kir barked, the soldier immediately taking three steps back into their cleared circle and fire flared as the Furies tried to press through Kir's barrier.
"How could you have possibly inspired this much hatred?" he concluded, sweat shimmering on his face, the flames protecting them pulsing white-hot whenever a Fury drew near enough to dispel entirely.
"I have a gift!" Markov panted, sparks of power around his fingers and Anur kept him in the corner of his gaze while he and Devek dug for the anchor that was causing this mess. Kir he could sense, could feel roaring against his mind with all the deadly fury of a forest fire, but Markov he could only see, and his uncle's hands were shaking.
"I wanted mindspeech to come back," Devek was muttering to himself, flinching whenever a Fury gave a particularly ear-piercing shriek, or a few of them gave that hair-raising chitter at once, "I wanted mindspeech to come back, maybe Cora can join the Sunsguard one day and relay messages – maybe she can just work for me someday, think positive. Going to ask Father Kir for help was a good idea. I wanted mindspeech to come back."
:Poor man, this is the second time helping you two has gotten him traumatized – actually, counting witnessing the bishra, third time,: Aelius said wryly, watching the situation through Anur's eyes since he was at the traveler's chapel with the other horses, keeping them from wandering off.
To think, he'd been hoping for a night of solid rest before helping Cora build her shields. Dragging her back under control was going to take some doing, so being well-rested for the process would be nice and Anur had hopes once, especially once he realized how exhausted Cora was. She needed rest, they needed rest – it worked out perfectly.
Those hopes had shriveled when Markov stormed up and announced that another anchor had latched onto him the moment his boot touched soil. At least if he stayed mounted they wouldn't trigger, otherwise they'd have had to backtrack and make sure no other curses had been woken as they passed.
:A second anchor,: he griped, tossing another shovel full of dirt over his shoulder and ignoring Devek's mantra for the moment, :I don't care how gifted Markov is at making people hate him, this is excessive – and why here? We're at least two days' ride from any border, and that's with keeping a decent pace and knowing the lay of the land. If Markov were returning he wouldn't be moving this fast, not unless he had a goal, and even then, he'd probably have gotten caught in the first anchor – did they think he would beat it and be lulled into a false sense of security?:
:I doubt it, Kir is enough to hold back this swarm, but he wouldn't be able to destroy an anchor at the same time, any sort of method for surviving this thing would require a pair at the least… that is a very good set of points, Chosen – and raises another one. Why stop at two?:
:Oh you have got to be – Kir!:
:Found the anchor?: Kir asked, hope spiking in his voice and Anur wanted to wince, sending back a sense of regret before he passed on Aelius' point.
:No, worse – why stop at two?:
"Sunlord save us from the schemes of power-hungry hateful witch-spawned wretches may you freeze eternally!" Kir shouted, flames roaring to new heights and his mental call echoed even louder - :KARI!:
:Mmm… yes? Eldest? Is something the – a Fury swarm! Witach's screams, you get into absurd situations - :
:I probably should have thought of that first,: Anur said ruefully, Kir's mental reply more reminiscent of the snarls and crackles of a brush-fire than anything coherent. As much as Anur had been looking forward to a full night's sleep, Kir probably needed it more than he did – it was fortunate they'd been able to get the shield necklace to Cora before running into this. Neither of them were going to be in any condition to help her much tomorrow.
:You mean later today,: Aelius pointed out dryly.
:I don't regret my life choices, but I might regret Markov's.:
:I regret Markov's. I think Markov regrets Markov's at this point.:
:Regrets whatever he did to make them hate him this much? I doubt it – regret coming back to Karse maybe, that hasn't worked out well for him so far - :
"Found it!" Devek yelped, Anur immediately leaping back and hauling the other soldier out of the way of the now animated anchor – the first one he'd been able to ignore what it probably was, focusing on the Furies, on the man he knew as uncle, on the fact that Kir was finally beside him – but this time…
There were at least three different skulls that made up the bone fragments roiling in the stench-ridden blackness that was slowly pulsing out of the ground, and he couldn't help but remember Kir's words on death magic – it made for discerning barrier wards, potentially useful against Ancar's soldiers and not just Witach's Brood.
Discerning barriers and discerning traps, it seemed.
"Enough!" a voice like bells, like gongs and chimes and summer heat drove Anur to his knees, gasping as golden power bound the necromantic anchor and turned the Furies to silent, writhing shadows, not even fully dark against that undeniable Light.
Vision clearing as his eyes grew accustomed to the lighting, Anur blinked away blurry afterimages and was utterly unsurprised to see Solaris, two Firecats at her feet and the Crown of Vkandis on her brow, eyes blazing gold.
:Aelius, what pronouns do I use when Solaris is speaking as Vkandis' voice?:
:Royal we?:
"Begone from Karse, wretched planar beasts," They spoke directly to the Furies, Anur taking the chance to look over for Kir and feeling something in his chest ease when he was able to visually confirm that Kir was fine – was looking relieved to have received divine aid when he asked for help.
He was getting so much better.
Markov was kneeling as well, of course, Anur doubted anyone could have remained standing with that much power bearing down in one word, staring at Solaris with naked wonder, tears running down his face.
"You always hated Karse."
"Never Karse. Always Sunhame."
Anur was still angry, was still hurt, that his uncle had promised to trust his judgment and had cast it aside the moment Kir entered the picture. But he had seen so many people who'd lost all hope in their country, in their faith, ever being true and good again – and the thought that his uncle had been one of them, living in the land of his enemies for decades and hating those who'd driven him off for every second of it but not thinking it would ever get better, resigned to what his country and religion had become –
It was sad. It reminded him of Kir.
"These anchors are abominations, binding unwilling blood and will and soul as fuel. One who made them yet lives – no more!" Their voice boomed, an echo of far-off thunder in those last words, golden eyes blazing ever brighter as Furies disappeared, as the anchor dissolved, three bright flares leaving spots in Anur's eyes when it finally vanished entirely.
"Be at peace," he murmured, hearing Kir's voice echoing his own and knew the faint Sun-disk afterimage was more than his imagination.
"We declare these anchors dissolved. We declare their makers forsaken. We declare Furies banished and these Words are backed with Fire. You did well calling for Us, child. The land has been cleansed."
The golden light faded from Solaris' eyes and the presence bearing down on them shifted, from implacable to purely impressive. Her nostrils' flared as she took the crown from her head, the golden piece vanishing in a curl of flame to undoubtedly appear in her quarters against its next use. "Well," she said grimly, "That was a nasty bit of magic. How did you stumble upon it, brother?"
"Markov here is returning from decades of exile in Valdemar," Kir said, levering himself to his feet and Anur quickly rising and heading over to him, bracing Kir's elbow when he swayed. Devek quickly appeared at Kir's other side and Anur nodded thanks – all things considered, him supporting Kir would be something of a blind leading the blind situation soon enough.
Solaris raised an eyebrow and looked to Markov, still kneeling and gazing at her with awe, before smiling slightly and walking forward, holding out her hands and pulling him to his feet.
"Then, Brother, welcome home, though I suspect the welcome was warmer than you anticipated," she said, smile growing at Markov's inadvertent snort.
The man stepped back and bowed deeply to her, saying quietly, "I never thought I would be able to say it is a joy to return, Your Most Holy."
"I do not insist on formality, Eminence is more than enough should you feel the need. Besides, it seems you are kinsman to my brother's brother, and in that we are family," Solaris said, looking between Markov and Anur before looking to Kir and frowning as she swept forward, hands out to take Kir's in her own, "And what have you been up to, brother? You look terrible."
"Only terrible?" Kir scoffed, a wry smile on his face, "Exhaustion sister, simply tiredness."
"From two anchors?" Solaris asked, raising an eyebrow and Anur couldn't help but snicker. She turned to look between them and finally sighed, speaking to Devek when she said, "It's not just two anchors, is it Captain? Congratulations on the promotion, by the way."
"Thank you, Your Eminence," Koshiro bowed slightly, "And I wouldn't know – I've only been traveling with them the past few days, seeking aid for my niece's friend – she's woken mindspeech, and it had gone… rather wrong."
"As it is we're not going to be in any shape to help her build her own shields tomorrow," Kir said tiredly.
Anur wasn't quite able to keep from chuckling as he repeated what Aelius had told him, "You mean later today."
"Hmm. Do you have anything that might shield her until you recover your strength?" she asked.
"Yes – she already has it – but we didn't have time to do more than arrange for her to meet us in the traveler's chapel tomorrow morning – this morning – in a few marks, whenever a few marks past sunrise hits. I don't suppose my signature on that working will be enough for you to track, Kari?" Kir asked, shoulders slumping and Anur grimaced.
She had been screaming very loudly, and had been able to hear her entire village. It was entirely possible, even likely, that Kir's shield necklace would break down earlier than expected. To go from that deafening loudness to silence and back again without warning? It would be difficult to bring her back from that.
:It should be enough, Eldest.:
"I can also head back to town tonight rather than in the morning," Devek offered, Kari nodding to the soldier in thanks.
"I don't believe that will be necessary," Solaris said thoughtfully, a spark of gold reappearing in her eyes as she bent to whisper in Kari's ear, the Cat bowing his head before vanishing in a curl of flame. Straightening, Solaris smiled and said, "Well. That is a good night's work. Kari shall stay with her to ensure the shields hold until she reaches you, so take the time to get a decent amount of rest. You'll do no good to anyone collapsing, and even less good if you look like you're going to keel over in a stiff breeze."
"I do not look that bad," Kir grumbled, relief taking a weight of his shoulders and Anur was glad to see it. Maybe they would actually get some decent rest after this.
"Hm. Keep telling yourself that long enough and it might become true," Solaris teased, nodding to Anur and Devek and turning away from them, "I will see you in Sunhame, brother. Try not to get attacked by more monsters on the way, but if you are – call me sooner. And Brother Markov – may I have your former rank, so I might find your records and ensure some friendly faces are in Sunhame upon your arrival?"
"I was called Markov, Second Order Black-robe, circuit judge and healer," the man said, bowing again and clearly startled at Solaris' laugh of delight.
"A healer! How wonderful – I look forward to luring you home," she smiled, acknowledging his final bow with a nod of her head and catching Hansa in her arms, vanishing in a curl of fire.
The silence was nearly deafening, and Anur jumped when Markov broke it with near hysterical laughter, the man beaming through tears as their eyes met, saying, "She's real."
Kir gave his own quiet laugh, stepping forward to grab Markov's shoulder and murmur, "She's real, Markov."
Markov's words had never hurt Kir, Anur had known that for a while, but had clung to that falsehood to avoid thinking about how badly Markov's old words had hurt him. False hurt, true hurt – neither of them mattered, not truly. His uncle had been hurting for decades, and he had thrown oil on a candle when he dragged Kir home with no warning as to just who he was bringing with him. The fact that only Markov had reacted badly was impressive, was near a miracle.
He didn't want to be angry at his uncle anymore.
:You are kind, Chosen. Your heart is too big for its own good, some days,: Aelius said.
:But it got me Kir.:
:But it got you Kir. Riva and I are on our way, since you left us saddled. The other two will stay for long enough for us to get you back to the chapel. You need sleep, Chosen.:
:Maybe I can sleep past dawn this time!:
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"So how long was that shield supposed to hold?" Anur asked, stretching his legs out and basking in the late morning sun.
Kir was quite comfortable stretched out on a pew and was in the middle of a particularly finicky bit of knotwork, so he didn't even look up from his string when he replied, "It's designed to hold for a couple of days without being fueled – but it was designed for my level of mindspeech, she sounded much stronger."
"She certainly sounded louder," Anur scoffed, shaking his head, "No, fair point. We were hearing her through my best shields and that was with us tandem shielding."
"Poor girl was trying to drown the other voices," Kir said with a weary sympathy. He had been fortunate, in that he only picked up on strange thoughts when he focused, and even then the person in question had to have some sort of Talent themselves. It hadn't felt that way often, true, particularly given the likelihood of setting those individuals on fire, but he had been fortunate nonetheless.
:There's a cheerful thought,: Aelius said dryly, :Now for my question – have you ever taught someone mental shielding? How are you grounded?:
:How am I what?: Kir asked, not even pausing at the switch in mediums but his fingers stilled on the strings – this question, he suspected, was important. Especially with Cora due to arrive whenever Devek and Markov reached town – Kari had already agreed to bring her to them and then once her shields were settled they'd escort her home.
Hopefully Markov and Olerus wouldn't actually eviscerate each other in the meantime.
:Well that answers that question,: Anur replied, sounding faintly amused and more worried, :Were you trained in mental shielding at all or was it something you picked up on the side?:
:I took mage-shielding principles and altered them, but never got specific instruction in this Talent,: Kir shrugged, shifting to sit upright, :to be frank, I was trained in mage-craft exclusively, my knack for flames was not seen as a witch-power in and of itself, and I didn't want to draw any more attention to myself than I already had by being selected so early.:
:That explains a lot,: Aelius snorted, :I knew your shielding was different, just by all the fire imagery that comes along with it, but I didn't realize it had entirely different origins. Though that doesn't help the current problem, because I took a look at her while you lot were plotting – she doesn't have any talent for mage-craft. She's mindspeech, through and through, with a touch of empathy but probably not enough to do anything with besides having an easier time interpreting mental tones of voice.:
:Sounds like I'm going to have to teach her then,: Anur said, Kir grimacing but not seeing another way around it. The girl had to be taught, and while he'd probably be able to muddle through and teach her something that worked, Anur was close to an expert.
:It's a risk,: he felt compelled to point out, not that any of them had forgotten it.
:I know, but – well. We have less than a year before this charade will be over, one way or another, and we have to start laying the groundwork sometime. Markov will help with that, if he announces to all and sundry that he sheltered in Valdemar for decades, but that will mostly be heard by the priesthood, we need cues scattered amongst the lay-people too.:
:I also don't see much choice,: Aelius admitted, :It might be best to treat this much as you did the 62nd – sealing the conspiracy, in a way.:
:So long as she doesn't figure you out, witch-horse, Anur being a Herald will stay under wraps. Hells, so long as we don't answer any questions about how he got taught, she may very well just assume he's a better teacher – we can even state that my shields are in a style she can't imitate, Anur's would be better – leave any question of how he managed to build shields to the wind.:
:Point. Shall we use that plan then and modify as necessary?:
:Hopefully no modifications are necessary, but agreed.:
:Eldest, we're on our way,: Kari's voice cut through their conversation and Kir quickly secured his knotwork from unraveling and tucked it away, sitting up and chuckling at Anur's grumbles as the Herald got to his feet.
Kari evidently decided to have them arrive outside, Kir sensing the sudden unfurling of flame – he was going to have to ask Kari to experiment with him because it didn't quite match the feeling of sudden flames – there was no natural build-up, true, but other Firestarters' could manage that. This was something entirely different and if he had to guess, it would be due to the fact Kari was doing more than just summoning fire.
It would be interesting if he could figure out just what the difference was.
Opening the door to the temple, he smiled slightly and said, "Cora Varus. You're looking better."
"I feel better," she smiled, Kari jumping up to sprawl on a pew as she walked in, "Thank you, Your Holiness, Lieutenant Enforcer."
"We're going to be working on this for a while, Anur is more than sufficient," Anur said wryly, "My title is a bit of a mouthful – at least Sunpriests have a shorter one as their usual."
"Yes, but how many actually call me Father Kir to my face without me asking them to?" Kir pointed out, taking a seat again and waving for Cora to sit. She did, hands clasped on her lap and she looked between the two of them before saying, "I can hear a sort of – humming. As if I were in the fields on market-day."
"Hmm. Shield-necklace is breaking down then," Kir said, "Expected, really. Your Talent is much stronger than what the shield was designed for."
"What was it designed for?" she asked hesitantly.
"Who, rather. Me. I've never heard those without some Talent of their own – but even those voices are too much," Kir shuddered at the memories, not bothering to suppress it because Cora needed to see she wasn't alone in this, needed to know that others had suffered that deafening, overwhelming surge of voices in what had been silence.
"So mine is worse," Cora grimaced.
"Or better, depending on point of view – stronger, would be more accurate," Anur corrected, taking his own seat and clapping his hands together, "Now. Kir's shields are – very fire-based, anchored in things you don't have. So that leaves me to teach you proper shielding. The basics aren't bad, the long part is in making it habit, so you can keep shields waking and sleeping, no matter the environment. Frankly, I'd recommend avoiding market days for a moon until you're certain your shields can hold – any larger settlements? I'd recommend a few moons, and that would be pushing it."
:Probably more careful than necessary, but with no one in the area to help her if something goes wrong, better overly cautious than hearing later she'd gone mad from shattered shields,: Anur explained privately.
"Right," Cora shuddered before nodding, "I'll be careful."
"Good," Anur said seriously, "Now, I need you to take that necklace off."
Cora paled, hand pressing against the medallion and she took a shaky breath, saying, "So I learn to shield without it?"
"Exactly," he replied, shrugging as he continued, "Also gives Kir a chance to strengthen it, see if he can alter it any to help protect you around your own shields without us being here all the time to power it."
Cora exhaled slowly before nodding and taking the necklace off, cringing preemptively but relaxing as she handed the medallion to Kir. "You're still quiet," she said, clearly relieved, "There's a buzzing – it's louder, but I can't – I can't hear any words."
"Good," Anur smiled, "That will make this a little easier. One benefit of mindspeech versus other witch-po – Talents, sorry, Talents, is that it's pretty easy to distinguish between yourself and others – you were able to identify who voices belonged to, when you heard them and not buzzing?"
Cora nodded thoughtfully and he continued, "Right – you also have some empathy, that's why you were picking up dreams, most likely. Dreams aren't really coherent enough to be thoughts, most of the time. That's a little trickier, but basing your shielding around mindspeech first should make it easier to keep you from leaving any piece of yourself out or sealing a piece of someone else in."
"That sounds terrible," Kir said, as fascinated as Cora was at this explanation.
"There are some pretty horrifying stories of what can happen if you mess that part up – which is why I suggested Devek and Markov leaving for this, at least. Less pressure against your mind and no unshielded minds to get snagged in the process," Anur switched back to talking to Cora with the last and the girl nodded again, clearly deep in thought.
"So the first step is to do just that – find your center. Ready to try? I'll be talking you through it, but I want to make sure you're good to start."
It took a few moments before Cora finally looked up and met his eyes, nodding firmly and straightening her back, "I'm ready."
"Okay. Close your eyes, and just – listen, to yourself," Anur's voice altered cadence, shifting to a lower than usual pitch and he was nearly murmuring as he continued, "Pick through what you can hear, what you can feel. Is it you? Bring it in, and put it away. Is it other? Discard it, throw it out. Find the next thing, recognize whose it is – keep sorting, register what is yours, and find that stable place, that piece that gives you a view of all your self, lets you hear and feel all that is yours and stand there."
Kir could feel his mind quieting as Anur spoke, unable to stop himself from following those same instructions but just as unable to discard all that wasn't him – because so much of what he found was Anur. There was the constant hum of his presence within arms reach, and that piece ringing of conviction and laughter and strength was what he braced himself against when Karse was too much, when what he had done was too much. A faint thread of muted power, a trickle of what was behind it, gave Aelius a foothold in his own mind, but a rush of wind was Anur's presence separating the two of them even as Aelius and he spoke freely. An echo of chimes told him Anur was listening, always, even as he focused on Cora's efforts -
And wrapping everything was golden-orange fire.
"There you go," Anur said, a sense of warm amusement rolling over him like a surge of water and retreating again, leaving faint traces behind to fade more slowly. "Both of you have it. Just as there's a center in yourself, there's an echo in the world. Reach out – carefully, don't unbalance yourself – and find it – and anchor."
Kir knew exactly what Anur meant, and did not hesitate to reach for that bright, buzzing core that everything held, no matter how muted and he let himself settle into it as he hadn't for years. It was loud, it was deafening, but the same way a hail-storm rolling over was loud against the roof, the same way the howling wind battering the windows was deafening – he was safe, centered in himself and in his brother and in the heart of the world's fires.
Opening his eyes, wondering when he had closed them, he blinked for a moment before realizing the fire he saw wasn't afterimages. Anur was watching him with unashamed fondness and Kir smiled, feeling the gold and red and yellow and orange sparks and licks of flame dance around him. The last time he'd felt so safe, so wrapped in fire and home, he'd been undergoing the First Order trial, and he'd despaired of ever finding that feeling again.
He couldn't wait to teach Rodri this.
Kir let the flames fade away, still able to hold that feeling of belonging around him for the moment and he looked over at Cora, unsurprised to find her expression slightly puzzled and her energy signature flaring and subsiding as she searched for that anchoring. He had known exactly where in the world his stable point was, had found it when the world split open on him and showed the heart of fire hiding within everything, but without that sort of experience finding the anchor point in a whole world would be more challenging.
"Almost there," Anur murmured, focus returning again to Cora, "Don't shift much further – there!"
He didn't need Anur's declaration and from the beaming smile on Cora's face neither did she. He hadn't been monitoring her energy signature all that closely, but he felt like he could almost hear the shift as everything she was snapped into place. "This is amazing," she said, sounding positively blissful, "Is this what having Talents is supposed to feel like?"
"You don't actually need a Talent for this, it just makes the feeling more dramatic," Anur shrugged, a wry smile on his face, "Not many non-Talented probably learn it, it's not called for much, which is a shame. The Talent part comes next – you have a solid place to build, anchored in yourself and in the world, so we build a shield. Before we get to that though – I want you to step back, and center-anchor again. It needs to be reflex, because this takes time to be able to hold constantly, and even with practice you can still slip out of place. Being able to reset is valuable."
"Right," Cora nodded firmly, opening her eyes. "Can you talk me through it again? Just once more?"
"As many times as it takes," Anur agreed, and they started again.
