Sigh. Why do I keep letting these ideas get ahead of me?
Seriously, guys, there's going to be a battle.
Eventually.
Thank you for the reviews and the support and I must give a particular shout out to SolarGryphon, whose enthusiasm made me change the plot to include his/her favorite character in the chapters to come.
If you've enjoyed this so far, you'll probably like Negotiating with a Rapier, which is a challengefic based on the original pairing for this story. And of course, good old A Light in the Desert is still being slowly updated, and it is quite a bit longer than this one is so far. It focuses on Nasus, who I personally think I write in a very similar way to Karma, and was my first fan fiction.
Now that that's done…on to the chapter! Enjoy!
Edit: I just realized I put half of this chapter in present tense. This has now been corrected.
Chapter 6: Medium
The journey back was far different than the one she had made with Lee Sin. Karma faint slightly dizzy, sweat soaking through her overdress in the thick humidity. Her heart was pounding uncontrollably in her chest, despite her measured breaths. Just adrenaline, she told herself. Nothing to worry about.
She paused to look up at the newborn moon, and leaned against the trunk of a nearby karmal. Her hands slipped down the smooth bark as she took a shaky seat amongst the roots and rested her head against it. Karma's eyes slipped closed involuntarily and she shook her shoulders, reaching up to pull the three metal rings from her hair. She held them loosely in one hand and looked down at them.
Barely visible, etched into the metal, were a trio of figures. Karma ran her fingertips lightly over the rippling scales on the first before setting it aside and carefully, carefully placing the third atop it. The second she took in her hands and looked at, a subtle light beginning to emanate from the teardrops beneath her eyes.
The gentle feathers carved into the metal begin to shift and soften as she focused, and a long, low hoot from a nearby owl mixes musically with the sound of ethereal chimes that began to ring.
"Ulu," Karma greeted the Owl-Protector as he materialized before her as a young man clothed scantily in feathers, his eyes a wide and unblinking yellow, with brown hair that falls below his shoulders.
"Karma," Ulu said fondly, folding his legs into a lotus position and reaching out to take her hands. The god's fingers are rough and scarred, with wickedly sharp nails that rest lightly on her skin.
"I seek your wisdom, my god," Karma said quietly, "for my heart is troubled."
"I See," Ulu agreed, releasing one of her hands to tap the skin below one of his eyes. "Have you still not cleared Manipura, whose domain is growth, both spiritual and emotional?"
"No, my god," Karma said. "It is with difficulty, but I resolved myself with that chakra some time ago."
"So it is a trouble with Swadisthana or Muladhara," he cawed, patting the back of her hand. Karma felt heat rise in her face at the knowing look in the Owl-Protector's magical eyes, which was made only worse by the knowledge that Ulu could See every thought in her head.
Swadisthana, the Sacral chakra, and Muladhara, the Root chakra, both dealt with emotions that Karma had spent most of her life ignoring and suppressing, lest they mar her composure. Swadisthana, the orange-petalled lotus holding the moon, governed basic emotional needs, relationships, and pleasure. Mudladhara, the four red petals, was associated with sensuality and sexuality.
Needless to say, Karma viewed the idea of lowering herself to such base emotions with a certain degree of horror.
"Dearest Karma," Ulu crooned comfortingly, "you must know that you are the purest spiritual medium to live in Ionia since great Rukhasana, Binder of the Pits of Pallas. But the painful truth as I See it is that you cannot be complete without clarity in all your chakras—even those that you would prefer to ignore. Love does not weaken you, daughter of Ionia. It can be a source of strength, a source of will. Love compels men to heights they could never have imagined, forces completion of impossible tasks and fulfillment of unfathomable duties. And you are not undeserving of pleasure. Let it lighten the weight of your burden and ease your path."
"I…I will try, Owl-Protector," Karma said reluctantly.
"You must try," Ulu said firmly, tapping her chin and forcing her to look him in his huge eyes. "I See that you have a great and terrible enemy, who waits for you at the crown of the world and I tell you now that without all of the chakras, your hopes of defeating her are as slim as a feather. Go well, Karma. I believe in you."
He started to glow faintly, then seemed to pause. The light died away.
"Be kind to my lost son," Ulu asked hesitantly, if a god can hesitate. "I mourn for him and I would see him returned to the light, not kept from it under the shadow of my wicked sister."
"How would I do such a thing, Truthful Ulu?" Karma said, startled. The god's hands slipped from her grasp.
"A cause to serve," Ulu whispered. "Give him that, and he will come."
With a puff of feathers, the Owl-Protector vanished, and Karma was left with her still-thundering heart and steady breaths.
She slipped back into their camp with nary a whisper, but Lee Sin instantly looked up from the small, smokeless fire and smiled at her.
"Welcome back, my Duchess," the monk said cheerfully, gesturing to a spot on the roots beside him. Karma sat down with a grateful sigh and accepted the mangos he handed her without comment. Lee Sin produced a small knife from somewhere on his person and began quietly peeling the food for her.
"Where is Irelia?" she asked, watching scraps of bright orange peel flake away from his skillful work.
"She is already asleep," Lee Sin said with a sympathetic frown. "I imagine she is terribly weary from her exertions of these past few weeks. It is good that we are here to help her now."
"I spoke with Varus," Karma admitted, accepted a globe of mango and placing it lightly into her mouth. "He will oppose us tomorrow. I have hopes that I may be able to…shift his goals after the children are safe."
"You smell of spirits," Lee Sin noted.
"Ulu gave me cause to think that we would succeed," she said. "May it be so. It pains me to see my old friend in thrall to that goddess who shall remain nameless."
"I have every confidence in your abilities, my Duchess," Lee Sin soothed her. "What are your plans?"
"I think that I might ask Varus to escort me when I travel to Freljord," Karma said after a long pause for thought. "It would do him good to be away from the Pit and his sense of duty will help to compel him to protect me."
"He is a dangerous man, my Duchess," the monk warned. "I would fear for your safety if you placed it in his corrupted hands."
"Varus would never harm me," she countered with absolute certainty, "but I see your point. I would also request Irelia and yourself to accompany me, and give Ionia over to the keeping of the Kinkou for her safety in our absence. I trust Udyr to keep the forest free of any wrongdoers, and with their combined powers we should be able to be secure in the protection of our homeland while we are away."
"That is a formidable escort for a simple diplomatic mission," Lee Sin murmured.
"I fear that it is not as simple as it appears, Lee," Karma said. "With all the turmoil that has erupted there, and Syndra missing…well, I feel it is best to have staunch allies about myself, so that I may calm what troubles the land."
"I shall inform the monastery of my imminent departure when we are done here, then, my Duchess," he acquiesced. "Do rest now."
"Must you always look after me, Lee?" Karma complained, but there was lightness in her heart as the monk arranged his cloak and a few packs of supplies around her so she could meditate in warmth and comfort. Lee Sin touched her wrist briefly and then made his way to the other side of the fire to assume his own meditation.
Comforted, Karma let her mind slip into a pool of nothingness, spreading like a film of oil over the lands of Ionia, and her body slept.