"So we embark before dawn?"
Octavia's flickered her sapphire eyes from Rhiannon, across the room, to her cousin whose cup of tea was found emptied in a blink of an eye, yet again. Limwris rushed to his side, once more pouring freshly brewed tea. This time, she had finally triumphed an inner debate about the worthiness of her services to this pampered ruler and continued on to change her station to the one nearest to him. Even the most courteous smile couldn't have hide the slightest annoyance found fuming within the gentle maid. Octavia blinked.
"Affirmative," she replied. "Many had explained that the creature was nocturnal. It would be safer to start at dawn. By afternoon, we will reach the Empire where you said more witnesses were found,"
"Indeed, that is true," he said and sniffed his tea before taking a long sip. He grinned at the satisfaction brought from putting the eastern nations under the Empire's wing. Quite rarely would anyone miss the best spices and herbal leaves the eastern people had to offer, he thought, that made men's joyous feast even more enjoyable than it can ever get. He looked at his cousin. "Are the sources found in Albion insufficient?"
The Albion people shifted their glances towards Octavia. Her brows scrunched. "We have to take into consideration that this case takes place in between two of our nations," she replied coolly. "It would be daft to rely on just one side, would it not?"
Nero smiled. "Indeed, dear cousin," he uttered, hiding his amusement behind a soft voice. He steadily stood and nodded at Arthur. "Tell me, King Arthur. Would it be wise to begin… dare say- tomorrow?"
Getting to his feet, he peered at the nodding faces around him who silently mumbled their nonchalant yeses. Yet, Octavia was found invisible in the meeting. Taken aback and flabbergasted at the suggestion, she wanted to have the last say, but a part of her knew that there wasn't much left to research let alone rummage for more scrolls. They were ready, she assured herself.
"We shall ready the equipment and horses by dusk," Arthur spoke. "It seems that our party has not a single objection,"
Nero looked at his side. Atia, Nero and Claudia shrugged their ayes. Of course, a single flinch at such a remark would be a shock to those of Albion. "And neither have we," Nero exclaimed with excitement. "We gather at the west gate before dawn and begin to move. Estimated time of arrival to imperial grounds: before dusk. Simple enough?"
"Aye!" they yelled.
Amidst the happy and confident yells, everyone stood to celebrate, finally embarking on a journey to the Divine Empire, further tugging this case into glory and pushing forwards for a union arête. Silently, two women delayed their leave behind closed doors. Across, the young strategist found Rhiannon glaring with anger even she herself thought was foreign.
Behind shut doors moments before the gathering, Rhiannon had entered the small quarters of Octavia's to find, to her bewilderment, the blonde, in nothing but a huge tunic that ran barely above her knees and wrists, plopped on her own bed… of scrolls, or rather her bed that has lost its credence in being made from pure cotton and wood.
"I now see what dear brother meant by 'awfully wedded to literature'," Rhiannon teased and placed her summer hat by the bedside table. She peered and mused at the blonde's consistency to keep her room generally neat and tidy despite her hoard of scrolls, books and scripts, that Rhiannon then realized was also piled upon her tiny desk. Sitting on the chair beside her bed, the brunette smiled at the former noble pausing at the King's remark. "I was summoned here, was I not?"
"Forgive me," Octavia said, barely averting her eyes. Instead, she stared at an invisibly amusing object that apparently parched behind Rhiannon's shoulder. "My head is full of letters," she uttered as each syllable fell out like spilling water. "I see not visions but letters upon letters, stacked and dumped in places even I have seized to envisage," She fell back and thumped against books. Rhiannon was close to question whether that actually hurt before the blonde gave a painful expression on her pale face.
"I see," the sorceress giggled. "You wish to have me listen to your complaints?"
Octavia paused. "As a matter of fact, Rhiannon, no," She pushed aside the scrolls by her feet with the sharp knob of her ankles and pushed a particular piece of paper upwards by her heel, only to have her tunic slide down her thighs and expose long slender legs. Rhiannon stared at the unrecognizable noble. She didn't seem to care less anymore. Nevertheless, she couldn't just not condone her behaviour since it was nothing near Morgan's worst. Finally she grabbed the rolled manuscript and opened it with a loss of love on handling them with caution.
"When you elves chant and use your heavenly spells, something like this comes alive into our world. Correct me if I am wrong," Before Rhiannon could correct the fact that she wasn't actually an elf, Octavia quietly showed a picture of a circle adorned with scriptures and symbols. Instantly, Rhiannon recognized it as a Circle of Incantation and Divination. Indeed, it was something that would pop out when mages and elves use heavenly sorcery. As she gently pulled it from Octavia's grasp, she examined it even closer and felt, at the tip of her fingers, to test the limits of this enchantment.
She bit her lip; this was not the type of sorcery to be trifled with, she thought. At the north and south gate of the perfectly drawn circular line etched a severely detailed emblem of the Sun that bared frowning human faces, and on the sharp rays of sunlight were symmetrical slithering snakes that had its teeth and venom discernibly imprinted upon the edges. Rhiannon felt her hair stand on its edge.
"This invocation…" she mumbled as Octavia wondered whether it was appropriate now to blurt her notions on the picture. But, Rhiannon's lips pursed tighter and she gulped. Even more sickening to Rhiannon's stomach was at the heart of the circle; a dark human figure, sorrowfully faceless yet had the audacity to expose a grin so wide and vain, whose top half was being split into literal two, as its guts spilt out of its body, while its arm from each side desperately reached for what undoubtedly seemed to be two moons, smiling even more hauntingly sinister than that of the hellish black creature. Adorning the devil masterpiece were old imperial wordings; lateral to each symbol; parallel to the line of the spherical borders.
"Well?" the blonde started softly.
"How did this fall into your hands, Octavia?" Rhiannon seriously queried and furrowed her brows at the blonde.
Octavia felt stuck and looked at the pile of scrolls, then, back to the King's sister. "I… Give me a moment," She stretched forwards, displaying protruding clavicles before triumphantly snatching a bunch of scrolls. She quickly flickered her eyes upon each of them and halted at one. She gave it to Rhiannon. "This, I reckon,"
Rhiannon read it but nothing actually talked about the meaning behind the letters and symbols used for the circle. All it did was described how it should be drawn. Though, the only good thing they both noted in their heads was that the author had thoughtfully left his or her initials at the small bottom of the scroll. "A. B. C…." Rhiannon read. "Octavia dear, is there any explanation on this drawing?"
"Unfortunately not," Octavia responded, looking at Rhiannon with a fast thumping heart. "I… Well, it was raveled within this scroll. And I figured that you might know the actual meaning behind this drawing," Octavia gave another intent look at the diagram. "From my perspective, it's a mere visual representation of the Black Being's character. But, the more I observed it, the more it ringed a bell; the spells,"
Rhiannon averted her eyes on the piles of scrolls and books Octavia immersed herself in. After all the reading she had done, Rhiannon thought. This very drawing might be the key to their alliance.
"Octavia," Rhiannon began. "This is the circle that gave birth to the Black Being,"