Queen's note: I'm glad I did not post this last night as I forgot to put in a few small details n.n but, have some eerie but peaceful moments.

Garnets

Chapter Seventy Seven:

(Grand)Mother Wraith

In the still mostly dark, and very quiet hall, the odd clank of Zanin's armor against the barrier was starting. It started to draw the young woman's attention away from her attempted test. The sole human was trying to coax a second silvery sapling up from where it clung to the wood visible between an opening in a mummified body. Lily was trying to mimic what she had seen Zanin did just a minute or so ago.

Cool, large hands touched Lily's own before she could look up, attending back at what was in front of her. The young woman squeaked in alarm at the phantom that was forming over top of the body she was sitting by, as if in mid motion to kneel while reaching down. Reflexively she let go of the sapling and started to pull back, unsure if Lily was trying to do something she was not supposed to. More so as this sapling seemed to be growing through a body and around its armor.

The much bigger phantom caught one of the human's wrists and another hand closed over her right shoulder. Firm but not hurting as he held her from moving away and finished solidifying. He was definitely solid though the hands were not warm, just that coolness of the wraith gift, or energy? He was in armor in this image, a reflection of himself in life without the gaping hole in the body, alike but not quite the same as what Zanin had on. A different helmet that let Lily see this phantom's face and eyes. Surprised at the amber glow in the otherwise normal eyes.

Normal-ish.

The phantom was still semi transparent, he had an expression that was hard to read at first. Like he was in pain but holding it, but also confused. The once man then seemed to soften as he moved his hand from her shoulder to rest it over Lily's head. It made her wonder if this was an argenta thing, not just John being awkward.

"It's okay girl." the voice spoke was and was not aloud, like hearing it in the inner ear instead of anything else. The voice surprisingly sounded warm as a cool breeze passed.

Lily could not look away from the phantom, but the air smelled notably better. Not as stagnant with the almost overwhelming smells of dead leather and fatty wax.

The phantom smiled then, as his hand moved from on top of Lily's head to cup the side of her face for a moment. The smile was not forced as he then moved his hands down to grasp the smaller ones. "Watch."

Lily blinked and looked down at feeling her Wraith gift being tugged on. Not unlike how Vito did, this phantom showed Lily how to use the new wraith gift. Only there were no living death's jaws hovering over them. Even if they were in an improvised tomb, the quiet was overall just calmer now, and that let Lily really pay attention.

The once Sentinel smiled as the warm air of the hall pulled past them towards the forge now. Lily's full attention on the semi clear sapling, watching it flush with white and gold color as she was able to pick it up. The little roots letting go of the wood floor and body it grew through.

"...oh, that's pretty." Lily half blurted as the golden Sentinel wolf's ghostly form nosed itself beside her. Holding the torch in his mouth, so him wedging up against her right side was a bit awkward.

There was a second and then Jade's voice spoke up, sounding distracted as that cool breeze swirled past again. "Very…"

Lily touched a soft, silvery leaf on the sapling, and looked up in surprise as the amused chuckle. The phantom Sentinel was looking away from the detection of where Jade was, and looked highly amused at the fascination the human had at the sapling despite the now open door to the forge. He reached up slowly, hesitated a moment and cupped the smaller human's head between his hands. The touch was still cool, almost cold but the voice spoke as he dipped his head.

Pressing the edge of his helmet against the living girl's head. "You're so small…like my son's were."

"Hopefully they're, or family made it?" Lily tried, not sure what to say as she held the small sapling.

The phantom looked to the side, focusing on several bodies. "At least one did, I've been guarding my other sons so they can pass to the stream between words."

"Oh… I'm sorry, for what it's worth." Lily felt her heart break for the phantom man. She always felt sad realizing these souls lingered after death in a real way. What kind of emotions drove that in someone?

There was an amused chuff like sound from the phantom, and Lily was sure John picked that up from his apparent long time spent with the Argenta. "Thank you, girl, there's not much to be done. I just wish I could have held my last son while he grew."

Lily looked up at the phantom, that intense stare of someone thinking hard. As the not quite ghostly form was starting to sit up, Lily carefully but quickly put the sapling in the broken canteen, the strap over her shoulder to be twisted for the sapling to be safe behind. Tugging on the transparent arms as if asking for help to get up. The phantom started to shift to do just that making sure the smaller mortal had balance while- only to make a startled grunt.

The human just tightened her hold around the once Sentinel's neck. Head hiding against the phantom and held tight, like she would when hugging John. Like when she would ask for her dad to hug her after a long day of work and school. That tight grip of wanting and giving reassurance at the same time. "When you're ready, I hope you can leave peacefully."

There was a shutter from the phantom before large, cool arms closed around Lily as warm air passed them. Clinging tight for a moment at what seemed like such a precious gift to him. "...thank you."

It was not his son, or wife definitely, but more than welcomed to be held. To… remember. His family, the love for them was the reason he was willing to stay here. To guard those sons that fell with him. Maybe wait to see if someone could come for their bodies. Even if he had sensed the passing of his wife. The phantom relaxed all at once, leaning forwards then let go with one hand to pick something palm sized off his body. Holding it out behind what seemed like a young girl to him. Watching the golden wolf drop the torch and nosed it before passing through. activating the soul gem, the once Sentinel tucked it into a pocket of the human as he moved to get up. Stopped but it let him get the girl to settle back.

"Keep that kind heart girl." The phantom said, putting a hand over her eyes as he stood. "Thank you."

Lily waited a moment, yet looked up as the weight left. She blinked around in the semi dark as cool air breezed past once again. Alone in her spot but for the wolf nudging the torch of golden fire that did not burn the bodies around. Picking it up as Kia' came trotting over, Lily realized that was the first sustained conversation with a phantom. It was just a minute or two but left Lily with a strange feeling, not bad but… odd.

The air shifted again, and the added oddness of that finally registered. Also the human realized she was almost alone, Jade was not by her despite answering earlier, but over where Zanin had gone at the door where some light was now spilling out. Or she just became aware of it. Lily frowned, would the warm air not be coming from the forge area?

Then she realized the air was not hot, just the ambient warmth of the hall but compared to the almost cold air coming from the forge area, it was.

Lily got up, confused as she carefully walked through the bodies and stillness. Holding the not really fire torch out with both hands to use its light, and those of the wolves to help not step on anything. She glanced around, as if expecting another phantom to form, or that one to come back. Yet it remained still and peaceful.

Restful.

That was the word, and Lily realized it was fitting as the cool air passed again. Over the last few minutes since the door to the forge area opened the air in the improvised tomb had cleared up. Then as Lily spotted the last O'ri sapling she belatedly recognized the steady pattern of the air flow. Almost ten seconds of pushing cool air, or pulling it. It was something breathing.

With attention now focused, Lily could just sense a pulsing against her, or her wraith gift. If the airflow was breathing, this was like a heartbeat but one with three beats instead of two.

Lily padded quietly over to where Jade was, the taller woman settled to sit on her knees. She had set her blades aside, and the spear was resting on the ground as the woman stared through the shimmer across the doorway. Like at the… Kings Retreat area, like the shields protecting the Fortress against space. That learned reassurance with the sight of the shimmer gave a small boost of confidence to come over as in the background the lift was starting to move again.

In a word, it was beautiful inside.

The shimmering crystal growths of all different sizes that filled the space, like a giant geode that was spread over a room. A massive room but still. The darker argenta metal and stone stood out against the frosted whites and grays of the bigger crystals that had grown to fill up the space around the outside of… the forge itself?

If those big crystal structures were not there, what the forge was on it might have been a walkway into the empty space of the center room. There was a passage around the room, like a reversed wrap around porch with railings. The odd mix of stone and metal architecture was now mixed with the encrusting crystal. Around the rails and where someone would walk the crystals seemed to be rounded, or like gravel. As well as shimmering with a few flashes of refracted light and colors that could be seen from the door. Some mid sized crystals were hanging from above like stalactites from the walls and what was visible on the ceiling. Most were that solid white seeming of simple quartz, not clear, but the gray also was mixed in. It all looked like they had grown inward and at a controlled angle.

Like something had twisted reality just a bit to make the biggest crystals grow and twist together to form a new solid floor. As there was some kind of shimmering fluid pooled here and there.

The mass in the center of this room probably did twist reality that 'little bit.'

It was and was not like meeting Gaia, still a sense of something massive and eerie. Yet, that constant background hum from the other wraith was not here, or the cracking ice sound. Just the sound of air flowing to and from the mass of… wings.

Oddly, all at once Lily was reminded of the tent-like shape of the curled up wintherins above. Only what she was seeing was much, much bigger. Like Gaia the creature in the room had to be on the same scale of size as a humpback whale, only a different shape. It looked like two sets of wings were folded up around that center thing that was the forge along with a long tail. Though Lily could not see a definite head from her spot as her hands rested on the barrier, almost loosing her grip on the torch as she saw that the mass that had to be the wraith was still definitely breathing.

Was the peaceful quiet the difference of the injured Wraith Gaia, and this one just sleeping but whole?

Movement that was separate drew Lily's attention, blinking as two phantom Sentinels were coming over to the door. The human realized it was not as hypnotizing as the last time, that she could focus from the start now. Not sure why as she looked up at the bigger phantom that stopped in front of her. Lily blinked up at this new phantom in armor like Zanin's, pretty sure she was being critically judged like the other two.

Lily shifted, looked around and then back up at the towering Sentinel ghost as she pulled her hands back from the barrier to fiddle with the torch. "Hi?"

The phantom tilted his head, as if not expecting that response. Then audibly chuckled as he leaned forward to reach through the barrier and grasped Lily's right hand and wrist with his free one. The other was still holding a very real spear weapon.

Lily's brain caught up and she turned partly, grabbing Jade's nearer hand too. Turning back and asking, "Wait, is it okay if miss Jade comes in where it's safe too? Please?"

There was the impression of the phantom blinking, or just how the posture shifted subtly to show surprise. Did the phantom not see Jade?

Lily watched until there was a slow nod, glancing back as Jade scrambled to get up and not break the hold on the human who was being pulled firmly through the barrier. It definitely smelled different inside, the smell of the improvised tomb almost vanished. It was crisp and clear like… like… it reminded Lily of being at the top of the central tower of the platform. When she would go up to make sure her dad had dinner and coffee in a late shift. Leaning on the rails and enjoying a sunset or sunrise with her dad as the wind rose and fell.

The wintherin like being shifted suddenly, and a voice spoke as the mass moved and uncurled a long neck from under the bridge of the center forge. Two sets of horns on the massive head scraped over the crystals and bridge.

"I can smell you again, child of hell, do your business and leave." the rumble of the primordial words echoed through the body and lungs, it was oddly alike to a grandmother that had smoked far too much in her youth. Leaving a low, deep gravel in her voice. The words still made the air vibrate as the long body kept shifting. There was a notable sense of exhaustion and wanting to rest, annoyed at being disturbed as the big head and thick neck moved to curl the other way. Starting to settle again as the wraith's far side under a wing, and uncoiling her tail from the forge itself to show the thick, semi-liquid energy inside..

Lily rocked back, not expecting that annoyed dismissive introduction. Still holding both Jade's hand and gripping the phantom's by reflex, she looked down. Paling a bit before and letting go of at least Jade to put a hand over where her now altered heart was.

Child of hell?

Was that what Lily was, with a gorgon soul?

No one was saying anything and the human shifted, not able to get her hand from the phantom and he was nudging her as if to tell her to say something. Lily just ended up blurting out, "Um… sorry. I'm sorry we didn't mean to disturb you… ah… I don't know your name, I'm sorry…? We were just tying to find a safe spot to wait for…John."

There was a pause, the movement of air pausing mid-way of an exhale. Then the Wraith moved properly, not just shifting as her head came up and sniffed at the air. Her head was definitely wintherin like, but wider in the jaws a bit more like a crocodile or alligator instead of the monitor like look of Gaia's head. Like the wintherins there were no visible eyes, but the impression there might have been three sets in the long head. Though with this Wraith it seemed more like it was scarred over.

"That was not the voice of my Hell born son?"

The phantom beside Lily chuckled audible, and before the human could protest pushed her forward away from the other two. Zanin was already on his feet at the startled yip, when the other ghostly Sentinel grabbed the living, holding him back.

"Squeaker then him," The Wraith tilted her head before groaning as she started to uncoil. Getting up and showing how massive she was, very much like the mass of a whale but longer. Two sets of massive wings stretched and flexed, making the living flinch as the wings scraped the smaller crystals all around and sent them cascading down in a rattle and tang of sound.

Very much dragon like, but with six very solid legs supporting the long body. Lily squeaked again as she tried to back up but had two large hands holding her shoulders, the phantom keeping her in place as that massive head swung around. Coming closer to start sniffing again as the Wraith found where the two where on the walkway now. Unlike the wintherin, which had relatively short teeth and muzzle face, those were differently more like crocodile teeth. There was also a glimpse of another row of smaller but hooked back teeth.

"It's alright," The phantom holding Lily said, dipping his head in a greeting to the wraith, holding but not hurting the girl to his front.

The Wraith's large head paused only a scant few feet away as she sniffed then pulled her head back back a bit and tilted it as if trying to look with one side of eyes that were not there. "You are not the Slayer."

"...no mama. Uh- wait. I mean, no I'm not…miss…?" Lily said in a soft voice.

"He had a child?" The Wraith demanded of her two phantom guards, and Zanin in turn. "When did that prude have a child?"

Lily paused, blinking and then made an interesting face as her thoughts were finally yanked away from the fact that those jaws were big enough to fit a person bigger than her inside, with room to spare.

Did… did the ancient creation god-being really just call the Slayer a prude?

"Wait wut?"

reviews!

XFireStoneX:
Its fun to write the phantoms, getting to do the little interactions. hopefully you like gandma wraith!

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