The Weavers

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Lirela
Sojourner
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2002 5:01 am
Location: North Dakota

The Weavers

Postby Lirela » Tue Aug 10, 2004 2:15 am

Lirela had done what she could on her own, and with Arenivar's aid. Whenever Selune's light shone brightly, she could catch it and shape it, creating objects as large as a dog and as small as a pea. They faded, usually by the next afternoon or when dropped, although some lingered well into the next evening.

But there was another step. It was one thing to mimic something's form - and quite another to mimic its magic. As the Weaver, it was up to Lirela to learn how to duplicate the necklace and amulet Gurns wore, crafted by the kobold blacksmith Tzxvu. It was required, in order to survive the battle against the Vile One who would destroy the Realms.

There was a small problem. Arenivar didn't have time to teach Lirela how to do it. If the great Weaver, Noloth'e, could slip into Lirela using the same necklace, though, she could teach Lirela directly.

Gurns and Lintral were outside the inn with Teej, having recently awakened. They listened as Lirela explained her need. After only a short discussion, Gurns said 'Here, Lintral. You take the necklace. It's not like I have to be wearing it for this, and I can lead attention away from you two."

It was an unusual, yet effective, suggestion. Without the Three in one place, there was less chance of attack from the Banites, and everyone knew that Gurns - as the Bearer - always carried the necklace. None would suspect otherwise.

The bard removed the necklace and placed it into the folds of a newly-created robe, bundling it up carefully. Handing it to Lintral, he said 'Well, I'll see you later,' and left the Dead Orc Inn. The necromancer's wife watched him leave, and sighed. "Yeah. It's sensible."

The trio quickly prepared for their own journey, and set off. The ruse apparently worked, because nothing other than the usual bandits and wildlife interrupted their trip. While resting near Longhollow, Lirela explained her situation further.

'I have been practicing weaving moonlight, and I am getting good at it. But there is another element needed, and Arenivar said it is a difficult task. We probably don't have enough time for me to learn, unless Noloth'e is willing to help.'

"You hope she can aid by speaking with you from within the amulet?" Lintral clarified, idly snacking on a piece of grilled lobster.

Lirela nodded. "I wouldn't ask if we had another option, but we’re running out of time."

Lintral smirked slightly. "Yes, I suppose we are. It's a sound enough thought, she has the experience. You do realize there's three other spirits there who provide valuable information, yes? Removing a spirit, especially involuntarily, requires a great deal of work, so it would be best if you can work while they are there as well."

Lirela shrugged. "Whatever is best, if Noloth'e will agree to it."

Lintral nodded. "That's your domain then, convincing your priestess of your good intentions. She's too valuable a resource for me to want contained in a single place, so I have no interest in keeping her prisoner within the necklace."

Lirela agreed, saying "I don't want her in the necklace for any longer than necessary. And if she's not able to do it, then Arenivar and I have to find another way."

Teej rode back to where the two were sitting, having been scouting the area. "I don't like being out in the open when we have you two and the necklace in one spot." Even though there had not yet been any sign of enemies, the trio agreed to continue their journey to the temple of Selune.

The difference between the temple and the rest of the town was shocking. Silence reigned here; the peaceful silence of healing and contemplation. Calm seemed to flow through the Sanctuary, opposing the insane bloodshed mere paces from the threshold. Within, moving slowly among the wounded, was the Moonweaver.

Straight blonde hair hung to her shoulders, carefully smoothed and free of ornamentation. Her face was unmarred but for crease lines of concern and worry, scars that life and her trials have left. Clasped around her throat was a velvet choker with a single moonstone set in the middle, and her blue robes were embroidered delicately with the symbol of Selune.

Arenivar noticed the hush as strangers - two of them exuding darkness - stepped into the Sanctuary. Standing, she smiled and glided to where Lirela had wandered, and the women clasped arms.

'Arenivar, you’re looking well. How are you?'

She smiled. 'I am well enough. I've healed much since we last met, Lirela, so much...' Arenivar embraced Lirela warmly.

The younger woman gestured to the two who remained near the doorway. 'Do you remember Teej and Lintral?'

As Arenivar nodded, Lintral tilted his head to the side and smiled. "She's here."

Lirela said 'She?'

Lintral snickered. "Noloth'e. This whole trip would be pointless if she wasn't in the area."

Lirela unconsciously brought her hand up to her throat and the moonstone gleaming there. "I had thought to call her with my symbol, but this works as well."

"She's good at being where she needs to be," Lintral noted dryly.

Arenivar watched Lintral intently through the conversation. "You can see her?"

Lintral nodded. "Sometimes. I think they have two places they can be. One next to our world, and then one further away but not quite within the realm of the gods. When they're in the other place, I can't see them. They have to come closer, to the place next this world, just on the other side of the Veil for me to see."

Arenivar nodded slowly. "Can she talk to you, can you talk to her? Can she hear us?"

Lintral tilted his head to the side, eyes slightly unfocused. "She 'speaks' to me through images. I have no way to reasonably communicate back. Either she reads lips or can hear what we speak when she is close enough, but she is able to respond to what is being talked about."

Lirela spoke into the air. 'Noloth'e, you know why we are here? I wouldn't ask this of you if it wasn't needed.'

"She nodded," Lintral reported casually.

Arenivar watched where Lintral was watching and moved to a somewhat empty space in the crowded sanctuary. Quietly, she murmured, 'Sister, I have taught Lirela what I can. Selune Herself has aided, by allowing me to craft the gloves she wears. She can echo objects with weaves of moonlight, but she does not yet know how to copy enchantments. I can possibly teach her this one, but it would take much time.'

Lintral watched, turning his head to follow movement that only he could see. "She's agitated," he reported casually, still watching. His eyes settled on Teej for awhile, grinning slightly. "She doesn't really like the idea, but she's not too fond of still floating around when the Vile One destroys everything because what was needed didn't get done. So she'll agree, provided she is assured she can get out again."

Arenivar settled to her knees, and Lirela followed suit. Arenivar murmured, 'I promise by my faith in the Moon Goddess that you will be released when you ask it or when we've taught Lirela what we must - whichever comes first.'

Teej muttered her own promise. 'You like Gurns. I'll make sure you get out if they don't.' With a dark grin, she caressed the hilt of her sword with dark promise.

Lintral reached into his silvery chest and pulled out the wrapped necklace. Pulling the folded robe off, he flipped open the clasp and held it out. "Alright then. Come on over. The rest of your faith already don't like us being here, don't make me run around your temple chasing you," Lintral quipped. He winked at Teej, even as he shifted his wrists to swing the necklace through the air. One finger flicked out to close the latch, and he nodded with satisfaction. "Alright Lirela, time for some guests," he said, stepping over to where the two women kneeled and offering the relic.

Tentatively, Lirela accepted the jewelry from Lintral, looking at it dubiously. Need dictated her motions, however, so she slipped it on. Arenivar placed a hand on her shoulder gently and said, 'Let's go to the Inner Sanctum. You have much to learn. Lintral, Teej, I hope you don't mind waiting here...'

Lintral glanced at his wife and grinned. "It's actually kind of nice outside, we can go wait there," he murmured.The dark knight nodded. "Give a call when you're done, Lirela." With a shiver of relief, she stepped out of the temple and into a fight outside.

Feeling somewhat disoriented and adrift, Lirela followed Arenivar to the Inner Sanctum of Selune. She stumbled when she felt another presence press into her mind, grumbling and growling and complaining about a sword. Thoughts of green living places drifted into her mind, and the memory of a time when the moon was huge and looked to be just out of reach. Wind seemed to whip past, remembered vividly along with the echoes of battle - dying men, the screams of dragons as they plunged from the sky, the clash of metal, the hair-raising smell of great powers being wielded.

Trees and blood and warmth in sleeping furs and a massive moon whirled in her mind, until a firm voice spoke. "Enough! Men, it is not our time to speak. We must let the women do what they're here to do, or we will never get our revenge, or our rest." The images settled, shifting, until the calm of a full moon seemed to gleam throughout Lirela's soul.

Everything seemed unreal to the woman. As if through mist, she saw Rolane smile. "Welcome back Lirela, Arenivar. You'll be working on more moonweaving?" he asked gently.

Arenivar smiled, and embraced the High Priest. 'Yes, Lirela has some extra assistance today as well. With her aid, and with the Lady's blessing, Lirela will be able to learn what is required to defeat the Vile One.'

Rolane raised one eyebrow and regarded Lirela. "Extra assistance?"

Awe tinted her voice as Arenivar replied. 'The greatest weaver of us all, Noloth'e, has consented to - to aid Lirela from within.'

Rolane's eyes widened. "Truly? This is a blessing indeed."

Lirela spoke without conscious effort, her voice different, fuller than normal. A strange golden-hue seemed to cross her eyes. "It is strange to have access to speech again, after so long without," she said, marvelling. "If it were my own body I would like to explore the sensation, but it is better that I allow the acolyte control for the most part."

She shivered slightly. Her body wasn't precisely *hers* at the moment, and it was surprisingly similar to dreams she'd had while carrying Katra - being a host to another entity within, helpless to that creature's needs. Still, she was determined to learn what she needed to learn as quickly as possible. Lirela said, in her own voice, 'What do I do?'

Arenivar smiled gently. 'Soon it will be night and Her light will shine down, giving us materials for what we do. Have you been practicing weaving moonlight?'

Lirela smiled with remembered pleasure. 'Yes, I have, every moment possible.'

Within her mind, Lirela could sense a strange standoff. There were others there, but they weren't being a bother. It seemed like one was keeping the others back while Noloth'e murmured within her mind, running through the memories of weaving. 'You have practiced, but only with the forms. You have to draw the magic as well as the forms, at the same time or they do not merge properly.'

Slowly, while the internal conversation progressed, a milky glow drifted down through the skylight in the Inner Sanctum. Thicker, growing brighter and more dense with each heartbeat, Selune's light grew within the area. Arenivar guided Lirela to the brilliance with a gentle hand upon her forearm.

Arenivar said 'Now, can you show us how you've practiced? Maybe study the necklace itself, and show us what you can do.'

Lirela felt confident. She had practiced many items, with greater detail each time she tried. However, she'd not had to work with so many separate chains before, cinched by a hoop bearing the amulet, and also by the clasp of the necklace. She pooled moonlight in her hand and plucked out a thread, stretching it and looping it back over itself like the necklace's chains, and painstakingly formed the amulet with its hoop, before starting with the clasp.

'You have the form, child, but not the critical element of the magic. You cannot weave first one then the other, they must be intertwined. When something is forged, the form is created and the magic laid upon it but such is not the way of MoonWeaving. Observe.'

Lirela again felt detached, as her hands deftly unwove the complex strands she'd just woven together. Then her hands began again, but this time instead of just building up the amulet, new strands were intertwined, so fine they almost escaped view at first as they were woven into the forming amulet. 'Work with it some,' Noloth'e advised, holding the strands of material and magic in different hands as she waited for Lirela to resume control.

Tentatively, the cleric of Selune did as asked. It was difficult to manipulate the threads this way, but Noloth'e stepped in regularly to guide her hands. Again, she had difficulty with the clasp - it seemed to bear more of the magic threads than the one she had in her hands.

Lirela felt her mouth moving, with Noloth'e's tone taking over. 'Weaver, I believe a new tactic is needed. Always before, the MoonMaiden has gifted only one woman the ability to Weave. We are asking this acolyte to attempt this now, when you still live. This is a difficult object, but necessary. If we limit her training to the required aspects of its nature, perhaps she will have an easier time learning what is required.'

Arenivar nodded. 'Yes, that makes sense. She seems to have the sight magics well in hand, with your guidance. And the alignment of the material should carry a blessing to the wearer of the necklace. But it will have to be able to carry a spirit - that is the most important aspect.'

Noloth'e, using Lirela's body, nodded. 'Yes, the weavings must be able to bear the warriors with them. We'll replace the clasp that snares a spirit with a continuation of the chain instead. A spirit can transfer along with the weaving into the new piece, so no means to capture will be required.'

Arenivar said 'Yes, that is true.'

Lirela noted, 'Since the amulets won't last forever, they won't need to come apart to release them, either – it’ll happen easily when their need is done.'

Noloth'e smiled sadly. 'When the Vile One is defeated, I don't know that even MoonWoven amulets of Oberon can keep the warriors. They have waited so very long to pass beyond.'

Arenivar placed a hand on Lirela's shoulder and looked into her eyes. Lirela knew the other priestess wasn't looking at her, however, and it was a disconcerting feeling. Arenivar asked quietly, 'And you? Will you pass beyond also, when He is no more?'

Noloth'e nodded. 'My sentry will be passed. The stones are my ward, given to me by the MoonMaiden. I have watched over them for so long.' She swallowed, thickly and a couple of tears trickled out of Lirela's eyes. 'I would very much like to join Our Lady when my duty is discharged.'

Arenivar gently hugged Lirela and Noloth'e, and murmured, 'We will remember you, and get to rejoin you when it is time. Now, let's figure out this amulet...'

Together the three priestesses puzzled over the necklace. Each stumbling point was noticed and debated to resolution. At last, at very long last, a ghostly version of the original rested in Lirela's fingers.

Arenivar had discovered that the necklace had to be woven over top of the original, in order to transfer a spirit. Noloth'e shifted into the newly-woven necklace, and Arenivar placed it around her neck.

Noloth'e looked out, studying Lirela closely. Arenivar's mouth moved, and Noloth'e spoke. 'Will you remember these lessons? It will take some effort and time, but I believe you capable of replicating this feat for the amulet. You have attuned to it, so to speak.'

Lirela nodded. 'I can do it. I feel I know how it fits together now, with the modifications, and I'm a quick learner.'

Arenivar agreed. 'She is, definitely.'

Noloth'e smiled, reaching up one of Arenivar's hands to lightly caress the moonwoven necklace. 'Then I will return to my vigil. I do not like to leave the monoliths unattended for long.'

Lirela smiled. 'Thank you, Noloth'e. I know this was difficult for you.'

Arenivar slowly lifted the necklace from around her neck, and placed it on the ground before her. As her fingertips left its surface, the moonwoven chains and amulet shivered back into the thick light pooled on the ground.

Arenivar stood, and sighed. 'Well, it's done. I think you can do the weaving now.'

Lirela nodded. 'Then it is time to get the necklace back to Lintral, and I must return to my family. Thank you for your help, Arenivar'

The women embraced, then parted smiling.

With a light heart, Lirela stepped out of the temple to find Lintral and Teej. The necklace was in her hands, silver chains sleek and cool while the pendant seemed oddly warm.

They parted ways in Waterdeep again, and Lintral headed up to the room in the inn he shared with Teej and Gurns. It was bad enough to hear spirits every time he wandered near Mt. Skelenach - carrying around the necklace made it worse. But when he entered the room, the bard wasn't there.


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This story written by Auril & Eilistraee, edited slightly by Lirela

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