Coalescence | Ch. III [SL]

**Atani** · Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:54 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

4,840,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

154,625

Reputation :

9,300

Class :

Paladin

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Aura :

Empress

Strength :

1

Speed :

13

Constitution :

61

Endurance :

9

Intelligence :

211

Mana :

2,975

Body :

Fafnirskin

Cape :

Heart Cape (ↂ)

Ring :

Ring of Hrava

Modification :

Divinitas (Permanent)

To save her future, she would have to let go of her past.

The more she thought about it, the more and more logical this solution seemed to be, and she hated it. It would mean giving up her ties to her ancestors... it would mean giving up the few remaining pieces she had of her mother.

"Rhaich..." Atani sat and buried her head in her hands as the truth increasingly weighed down upon her. "LeeAnn... Penin chûr," she mumbled to herself. Tears began to well in the elf's eyes. It... helped to talk sometimes, as if she was really there. Goddamn it, why did she have to go? She didn't even have a chance to say goodbye, to explain anything after leaving the guild. She thought she would, but then... Well, things happened. And then she was gone. Her closest friend. Just like that. And now Atani was going to be more alone than ever.

WC: 156 | 156/1600

**Atani** · Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:54 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

4,840,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

154,625

Reputation :

9,300

Class :

Paladin

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Aura :

Empress

Strength :

1

Speed :

13

Constitution :

61

Endurance :

9

Intelligence :

211

Mana :

2,975

Body :

Fafnirskin

Cape :

Heart Cape (ↂ)

Ring :

Ring of Hrava

Modification :

Divinitas (Permanent)

"Díheno nin..." she spoke, voice shaking slightly. She initially imagined herself saying that to LeeAnn, but really, she was speaking to everyone. Her mother, her grandmother, her numerous other ancestors... Anyone who had been there for her who she suddenly could not be with any longer. Who she would never be able to see again, even spiritually, if she decided to go through with this sacrifice.

Gods, what was she thinking? She needed to do this, but she couldn't without at least trying to connect with them. She needed to at least say her goodbyes. But what were the chances of this working in Talaz Lagaar? She could hardly get it to work in Athalran sometimes. But she had to try. For her own sake, for her own piece of mind, she couldn't go through with this until she made an honest effort to connect with her family, with the ones who were no longer with her physically, but who were always watching over her anyhow.

WC: 166 | 322/1600

**Atani** · Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:55 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

4,840,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

154,625

Reputation :

9,300

Class :

Paladin

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Aura :

Empress

Strength :

1

Speed :

13

Constitution :

61

Endurance :

9

Intelligence :

211

Mana :

2,975

Body :

Fafnirskin

Cape :

Heart Cape (ↂ)

Ring :

Ring of Hrava

Modification :

Divinitas (Permanent)

Back at her own place, she knelt on the ground and held her hands in front of her in anjali mudra. The nataprarthanasna position, as she believed the Bellans called it, but to her it was just the natural meditation pose. If she were back in Athalran in front of a shrine, this would maybe take... half an hour or so to begin to feel a connection? If one ever came, that is. In Fiorian towns, it could take even longer. But in Talaz Lagaar, she had no way of knowing if or when that connection would even happen. She didn't know if she had the patience for it, to be honest, but she had to try. This was, quite literally, a matter of life or death, and she would love to have her ancestors' thoughts on the matter, especially since she couldn't get advice from Lee... Not now, not ever.

WC: 151 | 473/1600

**Atani** · Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:55 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

4,840,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

154,625

Reputation :

9,300

Class :

Paladin

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Aura :

Empress

Strength :

1

Speed :

13

Constitution :

61

Endurance :

9

Intelligence :

211

Mana :

2,975

Body :

Fafnirskin

Cape :

Heart Cape (ↂ)

Ring :

Ring of Hrava

Modification :

Divinitas (Permanent)

Not a damn day went by when she didn't ponder for even a second what would have happened if she did something different. Like, what if she had stayed in Astera? What if she hadn't left Infinity Wolves? What if she had, but still continued on with LeeAnn side-by-side?

That sort of thinking she knew wasn't healthy, but she couldn't help it. She lost her best friend. And she wasn't even fucking there.

And goddamn it again, she was losing her focus.

It took Atani around three full hours before she gave up. Her hands dropped to her side and she rocked back to sit on the floor. She pressed her palms into the wood beneath her and clenched her fists as she breathed in deep. This... wasn't working. This wooden floor? Hell, it didn't even feel like real wood. The closest thing to nature she could feel around her was a packaged tea bag.

WC: 155 | 628/1600

**Atani** · Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:55 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

4,840,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

154,625

Reputation :

9,300

Class :

Paladin

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Aura :

Empress

Strength :

1

Speed :

13

Constitution :

61

Endurance :

9

Intelligence :

211

Mana :

2,975

Body :

Fafnirskin

Cape :

Heart Cape (ↂ)

Ring :

Ring of Hrava

Modification :

Divinitas (Permanent)

Of course the meditation wasn't working. She was trying to use her own body as a conduit for connecting to every living being in her bloodline, and that was nearly impossible to do without something natural around her. Something organic. Something enchanted by elves would work too, but she was already pushing her luck finding any greenery around here.

What a place to be the Sylvan Fay, wasn't it.

(The name suited her so much better when she was in Fiore...)

She wondered if she could find anything here in Talaz Lagaar that could be of use. Surely there had to be something. She'd seen a few of her kind around the city, but it was entirely possible they were either like her, a foreigner, or they simply adapted to this unique lifestyle. So, maybe her chances were even slimmer than she initially thought, but she had to at least try.

WC: 151 | 779/1600

**Atani** · Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:55 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

4,840,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

154,625

Reputation :

9,300

Class :

Paladin

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Aura :

Empress

Strength :

1

Speed :

13

Constitution :

61

Endurance :

9

Intelligence :

211

Mana :

2,975

Body :

Fafnirskin

Cape :

Heart Cape (ↂ)

Ring :

Ring of Hrava

Modification :

Divinitas (Permanent)

Usually, Atani would be able to make some sort of list for this sort of thing, but in a place like Talaz Lagaar, she would just have to wing it and make it up as she went. But a good starting place, she wagered, would be an apothecary (assuming she could find one in the Mechanical City).

It took some asking around, but she was soon able to get directions to an apothecary. Upon arriving at the shop, she took it upon herself to rummage through the herbs. They were sold dry, not fresh, but they would have to do. Vetiver, sweet briar, amaranth, rosemary... Yes, those would work. Even dried they should be potent enough.

Atani checked out with the clerk and tried to find a magic shop. The tricky part wasn't finding it this time, but it was ensuring the products contained within weren't some sort of scam.

WC: 150 | 929/1600

**Atani** · Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:55 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

4,840,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

154,625

Reputation :

9,300

Class :

Paladin

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Aura :

Empress

Strength :

1

Speed :

13

Constitution :

61

Endurance :

9

Intelligence :

211

Mana :

2,975

Body :

Fafnirskin

Cape :

Heart Cape (ↂ)

Ring :

Ring of Hrava

Modification :

Divinitas (Permanent)

Unfortunately, certain shops liked to take advantage of young and naïve mages. Sometimes they sold functioning products for way too high of a cost, and other times they sold products that had a pitiful shelf life. Atani, over the years, had gotten quite good at appraising those sorts of magical items for herself, but that still didn't negate the fact some places were so overrun with such things it made it difficult to find what she was looking for.

Some products Atani knew she could find just about anywhere: candles. At the end of the day, it didn't really matter which type of candle she had, since the herbs she burned would carry most of the magic, but selecting a good quality wick and wax certainly helped during the process. She selected a few, hovering her hands over the sticks to make sure her mana reverberated just right, and went to see what else was available.

WC: 156 | 1085/1600

**Atani** · Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:56 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

4,840,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

154,625

Reputation :

9,300

Class :

Paladin

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Aura :

Empress

Strength :

1

Speed :

13

Constitution :

61

Endurance :

9

Intelligence :

211

Mana :

2,975

Body :

Fafnirskin

Cape :

Heart Cape (ↂ)

Ring :

Ring of Hrava

Modification :

Divinitas (Permanent)

Eventually, she had gathered all the ingredients she thought she could get, and went in search of a secluded area in Talaz Lagaar. That, perhaps, was an even more difficult find than all the other magical items she had collected thus far. As a matter of fact, Atani had to travel just outside the outskirts of the Mechanical City in order to find a place that even had some semblance of something she could find back home.

The area was-- more or less-- secluded from the Mechanical City. There was still loads of noise and light pollution, but she had actually found a space with grass. Real grass. And some bushes too, although they looked as if they could use a healthy dose of rain. But still, it was better than what she could find within the city itself.

Atani bent down upon the grass and went to work taking out all her supplies.

WC: 154 | 1239/1600

**Atani** · Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:56 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

4,840,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

154,625

Reputation :

9,300

Class :

Paladin

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Aura :

Empress

Strength :

1

Speed :

13

Constitution :

61

Endurance :

9

Intelligence :

211

Mana :

2,975

Body :

Fafnirskin

Cape :

Heart Cape (ↂ)

Ring :

Ring of Hrava

Modification :

Divinitas (Permanent)

She set the candles in a semi-circle before her. Along each, she placed a bed of dried herbs. She sprinkled an enchanted dust over the entire setup before proceeding to light the candles. She muttered some elven blessings during each and every step.

"Amil, haru, haruni, nostari... Elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo. Feanya linda cenita le."

Using nothing but the mana flowing through her fingers, she proceeded to light the candles one by one. Once they were lit, she knelt around the focal point of the arc she had created and closed her eyes as she began to meditate. The fragrant scent of the herbs drifted into the air as they burned. They helped to hone her mind.

An hour had passed, and the wax from the candles were beginning to get rather low. The herbal fragrance was becoming less potent, and Atani for a moment was worried that these efforts were all for nothing.

WC: 154 | 1393/1600

**Atani** · Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:56 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

4,840,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

154,625

Reputation :

9,300

Class :

Paladin

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Aura :

Empress

Strength :

1

Speed :

13

Constitution :

61

Endurance :

9

Intelligence :

211

Mana :

2,975

Body :

Fafnirskin

Cape :

Heart Cape (ↂ)

Ring :

Ring of Hrava

Modification :

Divinitas (Permanent)

But then... something happened.

She felt it.

It was like the air around her had suddenly changed, and the darkness behind her closed eyes had become just that much darker. She opened her eyes to see if it had worked-- but not physically. In this meditative state, she was acutely aware of her body's sensations in the spiritual realm. Anything she could do in the physical world, she could imagine herself doing with clarity in the meditative space.

Her surroundings were a hazy mix of white and blue. It reminded her of pieces of a sky that had been melted together. It was impossible to judge where anything was or how far this 'realm' of a mind space stretched, but that was how Atani knew she was in the right place.

"Êl síla erin lû e-govaded ‘wîn," a disembodied voice spoke.

"Êl síla erin lû e-govaded ‘wîn," Atani replied. She felt a wave of relief as she saw some lights beginning to shine before her. They were the spirits of her ancestors. Though they struggled to take on a corporeal form, she knew it was them by their voice and presence.

"I seek advice from you," Atani said. Taking a deep breath, she began to tell them what she knew and listened for their replies...

WC: 215 | 1608/1600

Coalescence | Ch. III [SL]

Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:54 pm

Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:54 pm

Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:55 pm

Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:55 pm

Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:55 pm

Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:55 pm

Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:55 pm

Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:56 pm

Tue Aug 22, 2023 4:56 pm

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