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CHAPTER 26
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Xellos dropped the girls off at Seirune, then, after treating them to
some of the world famous soft ice cream, and teasing them, he
dissappeared. Lina and Luna fumed their way into the holy city and under
Lina's guidance made their way to the main magical library. They spent
several days immersed into every book they could find on the matter at
hand. But all they came up with was a bunch of minor references on the
existence of the idea, no practical discussions about whether
reincarnation was real or how to call a spirit down to come into the
world again.
"We're dead, so very, verydead..." sighed Lina at one point. Luna could
only nod in agreement.
One thing they did their best to do was to stay away from Amelia, not
only did they fear she wouldn't understand, but Lina was convinced she'd
end up trying to help them, and likely end up in Zellas' clutches as a
result. They couldn't do that to any of their friends they had agreed.
So, just when a friend would be nice, they were denied...
After a while they branched out and started asking around at temples in
the city. They got a range of answers going from reincarnation was
impossible to it happened all the time, but all the answers agreed there
was no way to call a soul down, they had to come when they were ready.
Then it happened. They were leaving the last temple on their list and
making plans to make for Sephilia to consult the eternal Queen when a
cheerful voice hailed them "LIna! Miss Lina! Hello! I didn't know you
were in town! How's everything? Is Gourry dear here as well?"
Lina jumped. If there was one person she wanted t meet even less than
Amelia it was...
"S-Sylphiel? Hello. Uh, I'm, um, uh we're okay..." she said,
sweatdropping. Oh gods, please let her be busy and go away.
For so many reasons...
Luna gulped, several times, as the shrine maiden walked up to them with
a warm and friendly smile. "S-s-sis?" she whispered...
Lina gulped too. "Sylphiel. Hi." she said as the the girl reached them.
"S-say have you met my sister Luna?" she asked, introducing them, sort
of.
Sylphiel bowed. Luna stood there, as if awe struck, until Lina's nudge
brought her back to the real world, sort of. At least she remembered to
bow...
"Pleased to meet you." she said.
Sylphiel looked at them a bit puzzled. "So, You seem rather, um,
subdued, or something, Lina, uh, is everything okay? I'm not interupting
something, am I? And, how is Gourry-dear?" she asked.
Lina replied "Actually, I'm sorry but you are interupting and I must be
extremely rude and ask you to let us go quickly. I do apologise for
that." she said. "As for Gourry, he's fine, and healthy and all that.
But he's not here, I'm doing a trip with big sister here, and well, we
have to get going. I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she said bowing and turning
to leave.
"P-pleased to meet you." repeated Luna as she turned to go as well.
Sylphiel followed and said "Lina? I'm not trying to interupt, but, are
you in trouble?"
Lina rounded on the white mage. "NO! Now please, Sylphiel, we can't
delay, go away and leave us alone." She wheeled around, took Luna's hand
and they strode off.
Sylphiel looked stunned for a minute, trying to process what was
happeneing. "Something's wrong..." she said finally, and followed after,
keeping a distance from them.
Lina and Luna struck out of the north gate and headed up the road
towards home. They said nothing, which was a bit odd, something must
have really gotten to them.
After a bit they loosened up and walked with a more relaxed pace. Small
talk returned, but they seemed unwilling to say anything about the
important stuff until they could get alone. Finally, the evening
approached and Lina lead them up a little path to a private area she
knew about. They were secluded and they set up a little camp. They ate
from the magic food Zellas had provided. It was basic, but it was
tastey, and it filled them up. Even their babies couldn't complain.
After that, and a little nap, they decided to have a bath in a nearby
pool. Lina cast a few small fireballs into the water, warming it up, and
then they stripped down to soak.
Luna rubbed her belly. "Am I starting to show, sis?" she asked, looking
down at the body. Lina replied "No, I don't think you are, big sister,
but, I am..." Sure enough, her belly had a slight but distinct bulge.
"It's from being so small." she pouted.
Luna smiled and hugged her from behind. "Look beautiful, don't think
being tall is all it's cut up to be. Wait a few years until you see me
with a sore back from having these big boobs you're so jealous of sag to
my navel. Gods, Gourry's gonna so ignore me for you then, Lina."
The girls went into the water and settled. Luna picked up the
conversation again. "Speaking of big boobs, who was that goddess of a
white mage? You know, Miss Sylphiel?
Lina smiled. "You too, huh? I met her years ago when Gourry and I had
first started traveling together and we had to go after Copi Rezo, so we
were in Sairaag. Her name is Sylphiel Nels Rada, and she is atleast my
equal, if not my better in magic, though she is mostly onto white magic,
healing and such. Still, she can sling a Dragon Slave equal to my best,
and has developed a variation on the Flare Arrow called Flare Carrot.
It's a long story, but trust me, now that she's over her "I don't want
to hurt anyone, ever." phase you don't want to be down range if she
looses a flight of them at you." She sighed. "I never got the whole
story, but once she had a major crush on Gourry, but he didn't return
the feelings, lucky for us. But yeah, she is a goddess isn't she. I was
about sixteen when I first met her and when she walked into the room my
reaction was that if I was a man I'd fall in love with her right then
and there. Now that Beastmaster has perverted me, I think I just did,
which is why I was so rude to her, I'm afraid."
Luna sighed. "I thank you for doing that. I almost had a nose bleed
there. I have to admit, I never understood what guys saw in girls until
that bitch captured us and put us through our paces. Now, when I see a
pretty face, or catch a feminine curve at the right angle I get a bit
wet down there. I get it, now, I get it. We really do have a devestating
appeal to men. And here, all this time I just thought it was them having
such an appeal to us poor women who drooled over a broad chest or a
handsome face." she sighed and giggled. "Poor Miss Sylphiel, if I ever
met her alone I don't know if I could uphold my vows to you and Gourry."
Lina chuckled. "Just take me with you, I want my share too.But yeah, I'm
sure she'd die if she ever heard this. She's a really sweet person. I
always feel inadequate around her, like I could be a better person
somehow. And she's so demure, so gentle, I feel so rough beside her. I'm
surprised she isn't married yet, she could have her pick I'm sure."
They were silent for a bit, then Luna turned to Lina and said gently
"Say, Lina, speaking of our vows..."
Lina snuggled closer. "I was wondering if you wanted. I know I do..."
They kissed. Luna admired Lina and said "Sis, you should know a curve
doesn't have to be big to be devastating..."
Lina laughed then flipped Luna onto her back and said "But it doesn't
hurt..." With that she kissed her sister passionately.
They took a long time making love, and had many orgasms.
They lay there afterwards, half asleep, and exhausted. Lina commented
"Ever notice how we are so multi orgasmic with each other, but not
Gourry?"
Luna nodded. "But we are still totally satisfied either way." She turned
and faced Lina. "If we ever do escape from Zellas will we ever be able
to leave each other alone, and only make love to our husband?" she
asked."I know incest is supposed to be wrong, but I just don't think I
have the strength to resist the urges I feel for you, Lina. You really
are more a wife to me than a sister anymore. I-I'm sorry."
Lina looked sad too. "I know what you mean, Luna, but I have no answer.
Anyway, unless we can do the impossible and figure out how to call the
human soul attached to Lord Gaav down into one of our babies and give it
to BeastMaster, I don't think it'll matter. Sex slaves, and worse, for
life. I just hope we can convince her that it is impossible so that
she'll be content punishing us and not try again with another woman."
She gulped.
Luna hugged her close. "We shall see, I guess." she whispered.
They snuggled in close to have a nap in each other's arms and sleep off
the after glow.
A slight noise.
Their eyes popped open! Someone had found them and was standing right
above them on the path!!!
The girls sat up quickly and turned to face the intruder.
Their jaws dropped.
"S-Sylphiel..."whispered Lina
The shrine maden gave them a sad smile and said "I knew something was
wrong by the way you were acting, Lina. So, forgive me, but I followed
you. I've heard, and yes, seen, everything. It's kind of you to call me
a goddess..."
The girls gulped and looked at each other. Then back at Sylphiel, who
smiled more.
Then began to get undressed.
"Wha-wha-wha..." cried Lina.
"I'm not getting in with my clothes on." replied Sylphiel as she quickly
bared herself completely.
She stepped into the pool. "Nice." she said. She sat down, then dipped
all the way in. Finally she settled.
Then she spoke. "Listen to me carefully. I don't know what trouble
Beastmaster ZellasMetallium has gotten you two into, though I gather it
involves getting married and having Gourry-dear's babies, but I can tell
right now you'll never get out of it without help. So, you two are going
to tell me everything, now, and we will take it from there. And as for
your desire for me, here's the deal. If, inspite of your belief to the
contrary, you actually can resist me it will mean you can resist each
other. Resisting me will give you both the hope and the strength to do
that for each other. So, there is your carrot."
"And here is your stick. I have a faint hope too, that Gourry-dear might
still become mine somehow. Though I never could figure out how, exept
that maybe you'd not want him, Lina. I guess that hope is gone. But, if
he can have two women, he can have three. Touch me,sexually that is, and
I will not resist. I will give you everything I can, never say no, and
learn from you how to be as wonderful for you as you are for each other.
But, in return, I will be Gourry-dear's third wife, and my belly will
carry his child too. So, think carefully how you treat me."
Lina and Luna looked at each other. Then Lina said "I cannot make that
promise for Gourry, I will try to resist you."
Luna nodded. "And the same for me, we can't decide that without Gourry
here to speak for his feelings. I know he really loves Lina and took me
as a wife because he had to. I believe he's falling in love with me, and
I know I am for sure with him, but it's only because of BeastMaster that
this is happening at all.
Sylphiel nodded. "Well, then tell me all about it." she said softly.
They did.
CHAPTER 27
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Sylphiel was stunned after the tale was told, some parts several times
as she got things straight.
"Holy FUCK!" she said, finally.
Lina gave a gasp, a jump, and started to laugh, nervously. "Oh, by all
the gods! I didn't think you even knew that word, let alone would use
it, Sylphiel."
Sylphiel blushed. "Hey? Oh my, I really do have a potty mouth. But,
Lina, what she wants, it's, well, there is nothing else to say. Holy
Fuck! She's madder than Deep Sea Dolphin!"she started to laugh too.
Luna joined in and soon the magic catharsis of the laughter had eased
much of their tensions.
When they got serious again Luna said "In all truth, Dolphin isn't mad
and never was. It's rumour that someone she vicimised started, but she's
let it keep going because it suits her purpose. Remember that if you
ever have the misfortune of meeting her." The girls nodded. Good to
know...
"So, any advice?" asked Lina.
Sylphiel replied "I don't think it can be done, but let's ask the
Eternal Queen, perhaps having a piece of the Aqua Lord in her will give
her insight. At least it will give me time to think."
"Okay." was the reply. Soon after, the water was getting chilled and the
three girls went back to camp. They ate some more and shared with
Sylphiel who had followed them all day without a chance to eat. They
tucked in, and drifted off.
The next morning they were up, feeling a bit stiff,and they were off
towards the girls homeland. After a while, with the warm sun on them
they decided walking was actually good for them. Sylphiel assured them
it was.
"Beats getting beaten for exercise..." sighed Lina.
"Ow, pun..." replied Luna.
Lina immediately put her hand up to protect her forehead from another of
Luna's famous finger cracks, and giggled, "Sorry, sis, I forgot."
"No you didn't." smiled Luna.
"Sorry, sorry..." said Lina, bringing her hand down.
There was a flick, a crack, and a thump, as Luna suddenly brought her
hand across and cracked Lina on the forehaead, right on the moles,
causing Lina to sit down heavily on the road.
"No fair!" she wailed. "I said I was sorry."
"Well, and now you really are." laughed Luna as she did a little jig
complete with remarks about how she still had something called "it"...
Sylphiel gave them a puzzled look. "I-is this how you two spent your
childhood?" she asked, quavering a bit.
"Pretty much." admitted Lina as she got up and dusted herself off. "Sis
is just a big meanie."
"And you'd be wise never to forget that." Luna smirked.
"Don't worry, don't worry." sweatdropped Lina, trying to placate her big
sister who seemed to be in fine form this morning.
"Didn't you do stuff like this in your youth?" Lina asked Sylphiel,
hoping to distract Luna as much as anything.
Sylphiel gave her a strange, faraway look and replied "I was naughty in
my own way, but we never got to fight like that." she admitted.
Lina was puzzled by the look and the answer, but let things go. "Ah
well, youth..." she said, then she asked "So, how goes it with you
anyway, Sylphiel. Seems we never had a chance to just talk, yet."
Sylphiel gave them one of her warm beautiful smiles and began to catch
them up on all the gossip of the past few months since they had
dissappeared. It seemed no one had missed Lina, but then, she had a
habit of wandering all over the place, so it was to be expected. Luna's
sudden departure and subsequent dissappearance had been noted, but the
business of the Knight of Ceiphied was usually not asked too deeply
about, lest Luna hear about it, and come to find out why...
"Oh my, you'd think I had a reputation or something." smirked Luna. Of
course she did, and it was well earned too.
Anyway, the day was spent chatting and discussing everything and
anything. Girl talk as the saying goes. Sylphiel couldn't help but shyly
ask how it was to be married, even if it was under duress.
Lina went soft at that question. "I'm sorry, Sylphiel, but I'm glad you
lost. Even in hell it is wonderful to be Gourry's wife." she said
gently.
Sylphiel smiled. "Don't be sorry, it's only wonderful because you both
want each other. Gourry didn't want me, it would be hollow for me and
prison for him if we were married. I regret I'm not the one he wanted,
but I'm happy he found the one he did. And we were over before we began,
you never broke anything up except my stupid false hope fantasies. And
after this adventure I anticipate my annoying faint hope will finally be
gone too and I guess I'll be free to find someone else, or not. I
haven't decided. He was, and is the only man I've ever met who moved my
heart. Silly of me, I guess, but what can I say? I don't understand love
better than anyone else."
Lina hugged the taller girl. Luna looked thoughtful, then said "The
final decision is his, but we can still have input. Still, you'll have
to convince Lina and me on this trip that you'd be a welcome addittion
to the harem." She smiled and said "You can consider the physical as
passsed."
"Big sister..." said Lina with a flush.
Sylphiel looked pained. "Please don't get my hopes up." she said.
"I'm not, I'm being honest." replied Luna. "Even if Lina won't, I have
every intent on asking him his feelings, but only if you show me you'd
love him as much as we do."
"Well, under the circumstances I can't say no, but I admit to feeling
some jealousy at the idea." said Lina, looking glum.
Sylphiel sighed. "I'm sorry, Lina, I didn't mean to hurt you. I figured
it would help you resist me more, but I hope that you do appreciate that
in order for it to work I have to mean it for real."
Lina nodded. "Don't be sorry, I'm messed up now, and if this is what it
takes to unmess me then I need it. You are a good friend Sylphiel, and
if Gourry does accept the idea I don't think it's going to be one I
can't live with. You'll just have to be like sis and me, and make up for
the part of Gourry we don't get to have as he's going to be split three
ways."
"Why don't we wait until we see how it goes first? Then we can be upset
or whatever we want." smiled Luna.
They agreed this was the best idea and let the matter rest, though it
was an unspoken tension. Still, friendship prevailed and soon they were
geting back to being three girls on the road to adventure.
Not that they had much, either there were no bandits these days, or else
news of Dick Turpin's gristly end had made the rounds quickly and they
were left alone. So it was pretty much a nature walk. But they didn't
mind, the sisters felt they got back some of their shape, which was
important to them.
Of course in the week and a bit it took them to walk the road Lina
definitely began to show. "Ah, what the hell?" she smiled to herself one
morning looking in the mirror of an inn they were staying at. "I'm
married, I'm in love, the baby is wanted and needed, by me and Gourry,
never mind the one who forced the issue, it was conceived in wedlock,
and I'm just plain proud of my belly, so there!" It was good to feel
good about herself she decided...
The next day they arrived in Zephlia City. The first thing they did was
go to their home. It was a testament of some sort that even though the
store and the house had been left open wide open when their parents had
been kidnapped weeks ago nothing had been touched. The girls breathed a
sigh of relief as they cleaned up and then locked up. Luna managed to
send a message to the palace as soon as they got there so now it was
just a matter of waiting.
Sylphiel showed herself to be very domestic, more than Luna was even,
and she took over the household, leaving the sisters to deal with other
things, like the hoards of visitors who kept swarming by to find out
what had happened. They answered diplomatically and didn't let too many
details out, only that they had had a rough adventure and that their
parent shad been sucked into it. On the other hand, they had gotten
married and were now expecting...
That did what the girls had hoped it would. The attention went off their
unexplained adventure and a big discussion erupted in town about the
news, and especially the debate about the morality of bigamy verus the
legality of it in Zephila.
"I hate how they discuss our morals." sighed Luna that night, as they
were eating Sylphiel's delicious home cooked meal.
"This is really good!" said Lina slurping her soup. She then replied "I
know what you mean sis, but what would they say if they knew what we are
doing?"
"Anone's guess. We might even get stoned to death to stop the rebirth."
sighed Luna.
"which would bring the wrath of Zellas down on the city if not the
country." said Lina.
"More like the whole world if she's that desperate." cautioned Sylphiel.
The sisters were silent, then Lina said "If we can't do what she wants
then we have no choice, we have to get her to turn all her rage on us
and leave the world alone." Luna nodded, looking very sad.
"Win or lose, I'm in with you and I won't take no for an answer." said
Sylphiel, quietly.
The sisters looked at her. "But..." said Lina. "That is..." said Luna.
Sylphiel shook her head. "I will not let her have her way with the world
no matter what it takes." she said. "I would rather be her abuse toy for
eternity than have her rage across the planet. Please, don't reject me."
The sisters looked at each other, then at her. They suddenly caught her
into a group hug. "If it can be done we are the three to do it." said
Lina.
Just then, there was a knock at the door...
CHAPTER 28
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There was much scrabbling, of course, but finally, there they were, in
the presence of Her Majesty, the Eternal Queen of Zephilia. Lina, true
to form was very meek and quiet, speaking only if spoken to. Sylphiel
also stood back slightly, head down, very demure and respectful. Luna,
on the other hand, seemed to have a more familiar relationship with the
queen, but then, she was the Knight of Ceiphied. True she had been born
the daughter of a peasant merchant, and as such her status as a woman
was beneath the queen, but, the queen only posessed a piece of the Aqua
Lord that kept her alive, young and beautiful, but Luna was possesed by
Ceiphied himself, and from the piece of God point of view she easily
trumped the enthroned woman before her.
Hence the respectful truce, and the quick audience...
She was doing the talking and explaining the predicament. "And that is
how we come before you now, Majesty, two sisters in dire need of help,
especially knowledge. We either have to do the impossible, and get the
soul back, or do the nearly impossible, and convince her to vent her
wrath on us and not the world as a whole. Can you do anything to help
us, please? We are desperate, and I am begging..."
The queen was obviously shocked by the news and just spent a long time
staring at the women before her. Finally she managed to make herself
speak. "Uh, well, that is news... I will tell you now, I have no answers
off the top of my head, but I will bend every resource to the matter at
hand."
She sighed and then asked "Is Beastmaster mad? I thought it was
Dolphin?"
Luna shook her head. "No, Dolphin is sane, ans always was, she's just
evil. Psychopathically so, but it is a little know fact that psychopathy
is a form of emotional insanity, not mental insanity, so, it is evil,
but not madness. As for Zellas, I can't explain it except to say she is
obsessed by something, which is a sort of insanity, but not true madness
either. So, they are both sane and dangerous women, driven by evil
desires, and backed by more power than a human can posses. That's how
she got to me, she's stronger than I am and always will be stronger than
the Knight of Ceiphed ever will be."
The queen nodded. "Well, I thank you for telling me this, the warning is
timely, but it is a hard matter to know the two best assest of my
kingdom are in such dire straits. I do congratulate you on your
marriage, and on your becoming mothers, if I can I will help you with
that as well." She sighed. Then she got up and the audience was over.
Back at the house the sisters tried to relax, but of course, the
sureality of their situation didn't permit a full letting go of their
tensions.
Lina teased Luna by saying "I could help you, but you scream too much
sis, people would hear and they'd talk."
"I could be quieter if I had something in my mouth..." challenged Luna,
giving Lina a frankly erotic look over.
Lina smiled. "I can't do futa magic or I'd give you al you could
swallow." she said.
"Futa magic?" asked Sylphiel. The girls explained. "Oh my gods, is that
even possible?' she said, trembling a bit.
Lina nodded. "Alas yes, our poor pussies were taken fully by her unreal
cock, I'm afraid. I suppose if it had been an act of love it might have
felt good, but she was forcing herself on us. I guess we need to be
grateful she didn't supersize the damned thing and shove it up our
asses. She'd be totally capable of the most brutal rape if she didn't
need us to be happy and get pregnant, I have no doubt."
"Rape..." said Sylphiel quietly, a strange and horrified look on her
face.
"Better get used to it, I think it'll be a staple in our lives when she
finds out..." sighed Luna.
"That and the "pit"." cringed Lina.
"Pit?" asked Sylphiel looking like she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
They explained.
"Animals?" the poor girl said looking totally stunned.
"Yeah, I guess we didn't quite fill you in on the more evil details of
our stay on Beastmasters island." said Lina sadly.
"Just details of how she abused us and broke us to her will." said Luna.
"Damn her to all nine levels of hell at once..." she added.
They sat there in silence for a bit. Sylphiel shivered as she thught
over what she had just heard but she said nothing. Poor dear, it seemed
like it was quite the shock to actually know such horror could exist.
Finally Lina said "I'm going to bed, one thing about pregnancy, you need
your sleep..."
"Yeah, have a good night." said Luna. Sylphiel gave a nod but didn't
speak.
Soon Luna went to bed too, but Sylphiel ended up spending the night deep
in thought.
In the morning there was a summons.
CHAPTER 29
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Back at the palace the Queen looked at them for a minute as if
contemplating her words carefully. Which she was. "After exhaustive
research, and don't doubt me, I can do things ordinary people can't
because of the Aqua Lord in me, I have drawn a blank. There is no way to
know if reincarnation even happens let alone how to bring someone back
before they are ready. But the Aqua Lord in me is not the piece that
forms the Calire Bible either, so, I have to admit there is a
possibility I missed something. I have therefore decided that I must do
one last thing to check. I will prepare myself today, and tommorrow
morning I will drink from the "Cup of Dreams" and undertake an
shamanistic quest to the spirit world. If I can find an answer I will,
otherwise, there is no answer to be had."
She gave them a scared look. "It is not easy to do this. I will need
help. Luna, you must be here to guard me as I will be out of my body.
Lina, if you were not pregnant I'd take you with me and leave Miss
Sylphiel here to act as a healer if we needed help to come back. As it
is you must stay on this side. But I want you both here so I may
communicate with you, both in trance and afterwards."
Sylphiel spoke up, a rather brave thing for her actually. "Your Majesty,
Lina's practice of magic is mostly about power and dals with the darker
side. She uses Shamanistic power but she has never made a Shamanisitc
journey, it is something most black mages never do because of the danger
of going to the dark side of the Astral plain, and beyond..."
Lina gulped and nodded. Sleeping in magic circles and taking certain
power boosting drugs was one thing, but as one who trod the path of dark
magic she had been convincingly warned away fom journying to the other
side. Too many monsters of the kind even Zellas would shake in fear
at...
Sylphiel continued. "I, on the other hand, as part of my priestess
training, have traveled there already, and I can and will do it again
for the cause of these two sisters. If it please you, Your Majesty, I
offer myself as either a substitute or a companion, if you wish."
The girls loked at Sylphiel. Lina spoke first. "You have never mentioned
this, in our travels, Sylphiel. What other surprises do you have?"
"Many, and some I won't talk about." was the strange reply.
They looked back at the Queen. "I have many more years of experience
than you have, Miss sylphiel." she said. "But yes, a companion is most
welcome. Come with me?" she asked.
Sylphiel went down on one knee and replied "Gladly, command me
Mistress."
The Queen laughed. "No, I am not your Mistress in this. And if you are
brave enough to come with me, I never will be your Mistress in anything.
But as for commands, it is just that we must prepare, of course. You
know how?"
Sylphiel nodded. "We must fast, but for water, and we must purge our
bodies of waste as we purge our minds of impure thoughts. Then a long
soak in a bath steeped with certain cleansing herbs, a night in prayer,
no sleep, and as the sun rises in the morning, we first prepare, then
drink, the cup..."
The Queen nodded. "We will say no more here, the uninitiated ones cannot
know the magic ingredients, even if they are the Knight of Ceiphied and
the World's Most Beautiful Sorcery Genius." she smiled.
Sylphiel nodded. "Good thing I ate a light breakfast." she said,
cringing slightly.
With that, the Queen took the Prietess away to begin the preparations.
Lina and Luna looked at each other. "Guess we have the day to
ourselves?" asked Luna.
Lina nodded. "Hey, we have BMZ'd money, wanna hit the town?" she asked.
And that's what they did...
That night they were back at the palace and checked on Sylphiel. "How's
it going?" asked Lina, wondering how the Priestess was feeling. She
didn't look so well.
"Ah well, fasting, drinking over a gallon of water, literally, over the
course of the day, taking laxatives and enemas, yup, been a blast..."
said Sylphiel, looking anything but amuzed...
"Oog... I'd do it if I could." sympathised Lina. "Look, I mean this, I
appreciate that you are doing this for me and sis. If we can ever, ever
do anything for you, just ask, heck, scratch that, just demand."
Sylphiel smiled weakly. "I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, now I have to
go have my ritual bath, and boy, do I need it. Lina, I'm sorry, but I
cannot talk to anyone from now until after this is done, okay? It's part
of the preparations."
Lina nodded. "I know, silence is part of the rituals in some black amgic
stuff too. I'm sorry, Sylphiel. I really, really do appreciate this."
She gave the Holy Priestess a big hug, then let her go on with her
preparations.
Lina wasn't overly religious, but she found herself spending the next
little while in prayer.
Finally, she and Luna were given a bed in the palace. A luury room with
a tub and everything.
"I'm scared." admitted Lina as she soaked in the tub while Luna brushed
her teeth.
"I'll get in there and hug you in a sec." replied her sister, as she
spit and rinsed. A final wipe of the mouth to make sure all was clean,
and she joined Lina in the tub. The first thing she did was hug Lina to
her, then whisper in her ear. "You're scared? In all truth, I'm
terrified. What if there is no way? What if there is? What do we do?
I've never ever felt so helpless in my life."
Lina nodded, and hugged back. She said nothing, there was nothing to
say...
There was no love making that night, fear was such a turn off...
The next morning they were summoned early, before dawn. They were given
food, but could only pick at it in nervous anticipation. Finally they
were summoned and taken to a special ritual chamber. It was a simple
room with a big mattress in the middle. Of course, all the action was to
take place on the "other side" so all that was needed here was a way to
tend to the bodies of the travelers.
Ominously, there were several bucket with wash water and rags set in one
corner...
Then the Queen and Sylphiel entered. They were dressed in very simple
robes, of pure white. Behind them a priestess followed, carrying a
rather large, but plain, cup. For a ritual object it seemed somehow to
be rather a let down it wasn't all bejewelled...
They came to the middle of the room, not even looking at Lina and Luna
who bowed low to them as they passed. They reached the middle of the
room and made some brief ritual prayers to the four cardinal points.
After that, the Queen took the cup, dismissed the priestess, and took a
sip.
There was no denying from the look on her face that it was poisonously
bitter. sylphiel followed suit and had the same reaction.
The Queen smiled. "Be brave..." she said, and took a big swig, nearly
vomiting from the foulness. Sylphiel also downed a large gulp and seemed
to choke on the gag it induced, but finally she was able to breath
again. They looked at the cup, gave each other a horrified look, and
proceeded to finish the dregs between them.
"Well, that's over..." the Queen said, again forcing herself not to puke
up the drink and spoil all the preperation. Sylphiel could only nod for
a long time.
The Queen looked to the sisters and said "the drug will take a bit of
time to start to work. You'll know when becauswe we will seem to go way
from you. You must protect us from ourselves, as we won't be aware what
we are doing, but don't interfere. Alas, this drug is famous for
inducing all sorts of messy reactions from the body. If you can get us
to puke or shit in a bucket, so much the better, but expect it to be
messy." she warned.
Lina shrugged. "After being forced to roll in our own feces and mop up
our own urine with our hair and sleep in it before being cleaned, I
don't think we will mind as much as you fear, Majesty." she said.
"I thank you, both." said Luna, softly.
There was a time of small talk as they waited. The shamans were okay at
first, then they began to get sleepy and slurry with their speech as
well as unco-ordinated in their actions. They became restless in an
exhausted sort of way and couldn't stop shuffling around in the room in
aimless, irregular circles. After a bit they both dropped their robes
and were nude. "So hot..." whispered Sylphiel"
To say they both had magnificent bodies would be an understatement, but
to say there was anything in the least erotic about a woman in a deep
trance would be a sheer fabrication. However, it was not lost on the
sisters that the Queen shaved...
But this was not the time to get caught up in admiring other womens
looks,and as warned, as they went deeper their bodies started to let go
in unerotic ways. Well, maybe Beastmaster would love it....
One, then the other of the vision questers urinated as they walked,
without noticing. Lina and Luna made sure they didn't slip in the
puddles and cleaned up as best they could. The trance walkers went on
with their shuffling. At one point Sylphiel's nose began to bleed rather
copiously. "H-happ-ens..." the queen whispered, very blurrily.
Suddenly, Sylphiel stopped, seemed to focus in the mid air, held up a
hand and whispered "Oh...". Then she collapsed. The sisters caught her
and managed to drag her to the mattress, then rushed back to help the
swaying Queen down. As soon as she was lying down she simply tipped her
head back and was gone.
"They've left us, sis" said Lina.
"So they have." replied Luna, hoping it would all work out.
CHAPTER 30
xxxxxxxxxx
It was close to evening when the travelers returned. As observed by the
watching sisters they had drifted off into a profound and deep sleep,
gradually waking back up starting in mid afternoon and coming to again
towards evening. As forewarned, the Inverse sisters had been busy
keeping them clean and making sure they didn't do trivial things like
choke on their own vomit. The waking Priestesess couldn't talk at first,
just blink, while blearily looking around and trying to focus, to
remember. At first they were even too weak to lift their heads or arms.
But after drifitng in and out of sleep they woke more and more. When
they could talk they asked first for water, and it was then the sisters
gave them a drink, having been warned in the morning they would not be
able to swallow properly until they could speak. It took a bit of
struggling not to let them gulp down the water but force them to
regulate their intake lest they vomit again and again, and dangerously
dehydrate themselves. Eventually they woke enough to control themselves.
For a time after that they could still only sway around, and articulate
one word sentences like "oh..." or "water..." but finaly they returned
and could speak again. They had been nude the whole time and now they
shivered uncontrollably as their bodies, no longer overheated by being
driven into high gear from the drugs, rebounded the other way and became
cold as ice. The Inverse sisters went to the door to get help.
"No!" gasped the Queen. "Not until we have said what we must. After we
have spoken, then let the servants in with the hot bath they will have
for us, but for now, keep us warm and let us speak."
Luna nodded. "We can wrap them in the blankets and hold them against
ourselves to warm them." she said.
"I, uh, hear skin to skin works best." replied Lina. Luna nodded,and
they stripped down then wrapped up with the Shamanists, rubbing them and
hugging them to themselves for warmth.
Sylphiel and the Queen shivered violently for a spell, but gradually
they warmed. With warmth came more alertness, and they began to talk.
"Unfortunately we cannot just answer your question, it is the nature of
remembering a vision quest that about the only way to remember a
Shamanistic journey is to recount the whole vision." explained the
Queen."It never works that you do these things and come back to just
blurt out the answer, the mind only lets you remember it as if it were
watching a play or reading a book, you remember it sequentially, and you
have to start at the begining."
"I trust you can recall what happened to us until we went away." said
Sylphiel in a weak and tired voice. "After that, for you it was two
naked women who'd occasionally make strange sounds or yell out things
that couldn't be understood."
Lina nodded. "Throw in some amazing projectile vomiting and the most
horrible and vile smelling diarrhoea and you've about got it. What on
earth could smell so bad?" she asked.
"The vision drugs flowing through us." replied the Queen.
"That's why we fast and purge ahead of time, so there is nothing in our
guts to stop us from getting that stuff out as quickly as possible."
explained Sylphiel.
"Man, you Shaman types have my respect." said Lina, shaking her head in
wonder.
"Is the cup still here?" asked the Queen. Luna got it. There were a few
drops in the bottom. The Queen dipped her little finger in the fluid and
told Lina "Taste. There isn't enough here to hurt you or the baby, but
you will know for certain, and with that I hope there will be no
dangerous curiosity left. Never take this without training, and never go
without a guide."
Lina tasted and instantly retched on the little drop.
"By all the living gods, is our plight THAT desperate, Your Majesty?"
she asked, gagging a drink of water down.
"Oh yes..." replied the Queen, as she gave a reluctant Luna a taste as
well. "Oh, by Ceiphied!" Luna exclaimed as the bitter potion caused her
mouth to develop what felt like a permanent pucker...
With that, and another swig of water, the Queen began.
"It began as they all do, with the dancing lights. These are just
evidence we have taken enough drug to send us on our way, and there is
nothing to learn at this point. In fact, they start out at the level you
can generate without drugs, just press your fingers into your eyes and
wait for the dancing lights to come, that's what we see at the start."
she said.
"Yes, but then they become brighter, more well defined and three
dimensional, and they dance in intricate patterns and forms. It's very
pretty, actually. After a time, the music starts as well, and then they
really are dancing." Sylphiel added.
The Queen nodded. "You know you have entered the Astral palne when the
snakes appear. They always come first. There are those who say they are
just our minds trying to make sense of the dancing lights as we drift
farther from reality, but I don't know, they look very real once you've
seen them. Anyway, you still have to wait until the whole world forms,
the grass, the trees, the ground, the rocks, the sky, all that, before
you are totally in the other world."
sylphiel nodded. "It's always interesting to see which colour the sky
will be, it's very rarely blue. It was a rusty red this time, at least
to me."
The Queen chuckled. "I suffered under a magenta glare. But it's
different for each and every one of us. The thing is that after you
arrive there is always a disoriented time when you have to figure out
which way is up, literally, and become used to being on the Astral
plain."
"And you need to keep your wits about you, usually, nothing happns, but
if you meet a spirit while disoriented he might try to possess you if
you can't resist him." added Sylphiel.
Lina cocked an eye. "Were you two okay? I mean, you had each other."
"Oh no, Lina, no." said the Queen. "When you arrive at the other side
you are always alone. You have to orient yourself, then start reaching
out with your feelings until you feel your companion. Miss Sylphiel and
I spent several minutes alone before we found each other with our
feelings. Then we had to walk until we met physically."
"It can take hours to do that, and yet only minutes will have passed
when you meet. Time, as we know it, has no meaning on the other side."
explained Sylphiel.
"What kind of clothes do you wear there?" asked a curious Lina.
"Clothes? Oh, no, we are all nude in the Astral world. But it is
ultimately a nakedness of the spirit, the body remains here after all.
Infact, bodily things, like eating, elimination, even sex, remain
behind. You no more think of sex in the Astral than you think of
breathing water here. Funny though, in the Astral world you really can
breath water, if you want."
Sylphiel nodded. "Or walk through fire, or over the steepest mountains.
You can walk on water or swim faster than a fish for as long as you
want. What is odd, though, is you cannot fly. But perhaps it is just as
well, there are sky creatures that make dragons here seem as song birds.
And the grey men are always riding round in their flying disks."
"Who are they?" asked Luna.
"Little grey men, about three to four feet hight, with deformed, weak
looking bodies, limbs that are as thin as those of someone who has
starved for a long, long time, and most unnerving of all, their big,
bulbous heads with their little pointed faces, and their big, black,
unblinking eyes. We don't know what species they are, but those who see
them usually just call them the "Greys" because of their skin colour.
They are strange beings and must be approached with caution. If they
like you they can be very helpful, but if they decide they don't like
you they aren't above torturing you for "research" as they call it. We
saw several on our journey, but avoided speaking to them. They seemed to
ignore us." replied the Queen.
"I saw none before I met you, Your Majesty." said Sylphiel. But I had to
be careful because of the Therianthropes. I saw several men with wolf
heads in a pack, but what was ominous is they seemed to be worshiping a
man with a jackals head."
"Ah, Anubis! He's not an enemy of man, but don't go to him unless you
have definite and important business, and are very deferential, and are
ready to meet his price. Still he doesn't ask for blood or anything like
that, it is usually do-able. But he doesn't suffer fools gladly, so be
careful." explained the Queen.
"Ah! Is that Anubis then? I have studied him, but never seen him
before." said Sylphiel, sounding a bit happy.
The Queen nodded.
"Uh, what is a Therianthrope?" asked Lina, eagerly taking mental notes.
"They are creatures that possess the spirit of both a man and a beast.
Sometimes they have the body as well, a centaur for example. Or in this
world they more usually switch between forms, a vampire for example, or
a werewolf." answered Sylphiel.
The Queen nodded then said "Of the werewolves you must be careful for in
this world there are two kinds. The first is the classic kind that
change from human to wolf and back with the moon's influence, but there
also is a race of beings which are called werewolves, but who are always
in wolf form, and they shift between quadrepedal and bipedal forms, and
at will, no need for the moon."
"Ah! Spot!" laughed Luna.
"Right! Your pet!" giggled Lina.
"Right." said the Queen with a smile, remembering that Luna had made a
pet out of a werewolf that had stumbled into the city a few years ago,
hungry, starving even, and looking for food. Luna had caught him, and
fed him, but only after she had chained him up like a pet dog and gotten
him to answer to the name "Spot", instead of the name he had called
himself by, "Dilgrear."
Sylphiel hadn't heard that one, but laughed loudest of all after it was
explained.
"Well," she said "wonders abound. Speaking of which, did you see the
green man? I felt him once, but never saw him."
"He was all around us, but never revealed himself." smiled the Queen.
"But, he is a nature spirit who loves plants, and we weren't there for
plant help. Did you catcha glimpse of Pan? He was running after some
strange animals with gazelles heads and cheetahs bodies."
"Ah, yes, now you mention it he was there. But if anything he was faster
than the animals were and the glimpse was not long. I did get to say
hello to him once, if you are nice to animals and plants he can really
be friendly to you." smiled Sylphiel.
"Well, back to the story." said the Queen. "As we wandered towards each
other we saw many interesting things but they were just sights and
sounds. It was after we met that we could act together to call forth the
path we must follow, and it came. It's hard to describe, you don't see
it so much as you just know it is there, and you follow it. It is laid
out at your feet, all you have to do is walk, and so we did. For a time
we just wandered along the path, but occasionally there were things to
distract us. Sleeping roses, for example, a dangerous species. They
smell so sweet, but one good sniff right from the plant and you fall
asleep in the Astral world. Occasionally you can wake up again, but it
takes a long time, and people have been known to sleep so long that
their real world body dies. Forunately, you cannot mistake them for
anything else in the other world. They are roses, and they are pure
blue. They are the only pure blue roses in the Astral plane, you just
have to be able to resist the sweetness of their smell that makes you
want to take a sniff. Some people say they are created from hidden
desires in all of us to just escape from our cares and drift away. It's
hard to say, the Astal world is, and at the same time, is not, real.
That's why a companion is helpful."
"They can pull you back." said Sylphiel, sounding strangely sheepish. "I
swear they were singing to me."
The Queen nodded. "It's not a weakness, Miss Sylphiel, they actively
seek to ensnare people, you have to be prepared to be tangled and to
break free, not expect to walk along and have nothing happen. I don't
know if you saw, but there were a couple of people who were all but
covered by the roses, sound asleep and likely to stay so for eternity.
It's sad but true, you have to wake yourself up if you get ensnared,
companions who are able to hold their breath and pull you out cannot
awaken you. But, we upheald each other and stumbled through.
"Then came my weakness, the gems of desire. They are glittery stones
that are so beautiful they make the most precious stone on earth seem
like coloured glass. They prey on people who have as their master
passion, greed. It was greed that got me stumbling into the place I came
into contact with the Aqua Lord, and it still pulls at me. But I have
learned to supress it and Miss Sylphiel's concern for me called me on
and we stuck to the path. And good thing, as we left we could see a
woman who had become trapped in the gem field. It's like a lake of
precious stones and you want them all so bad you end up losing yourself
to them. She was swimming in them and will do so forever. Her silver
cord was gone."
"Silver cord?" asked one of the sisters.
Sylphiel replied "Oh, yes, when you leave the body there is a magical
silver cord that connects you back to it. It follows you and is attached
to you at the belly button, where the umbilical cord is on a baby. It's
like a spiritual umbilical cord, if you like. It never gets in your way
nor gets tangled on anything. It's just there so you can follow it back
to your body when it's time to return. But, when you die, the cord
breaks and dissppears..."
"So that woman was going to swim forever?" asked Lina.
"Yes, she wanted the gems so badly that she had become theirs, rather
than making them hers." was the reply.
After a reflective pause the tale was resumed. "We kept on and soon ran
across a heard of talking dogs. They seemed eager to know all about us,
as is the nature of dogs. We chatted awhile, they were very friendly and
likable, but it was hard to have a deep conversation with them, they
kept interupting themselves and each other every time there was a slight
rustle by shouting "Squirrel!" And they don't have much concentration
and were soon off chasing things. So we walked on.
"Eventually we came to a village of fairies up in the central ridge of
mountains that marks the middle of the Astral Plain. We went in, because
that is where the path lead, and ended. We were surrounded by little
people about thre size of a mouse, only they had insect like wings and
could fly. We soon were unable to proceed as they crowded around us and
asked questions. They are eager to hear news of the earth, it seems they
once lived here but were driven off, and now live in the Astral plain.
But they like news of "home" as they call it. We told them what we
could. They were agast to hear what Zellas wants and were convinced that
if you succeeded it would so upset the natural order that it would
destroy the world and maybe the Astral plain itself. But you have to be
careful, fairies are famous for panicing easily, they are quite
emotional creatures.
"Still, we were told we needed to go and talk to the Ferryman to get the
answers we seek, and with that our path opened again. We knew we had to
be careful, the path ran down the mountains and into the distance, not
back the way we came. You see, the Astral plain is divided into two
sides, the light side, or the near side, which has it's shore against
Earth, and the far side or the dark side, hidden in the shadow of the
mountains, and forever dark and gloomy. It has it's shore against the
Land of the Dead, and a mighty river runs down between the two shores.
You cannot cross the river unless the Ferryman takes you. What is in
there no one knows, for none have returned, or if they have, they
couldn't tell the tale. Only Shamans such as we have made it to the near
shore and returned to tell of that."
"With a bit of caution we set off on our walk again. Now we could tell
we were being followed, but we didn't know by what. But just telling our
quest to the fairies probably reverberated through the Astral plain like
the ringing of a bell, so we were marked now. Our spotting of the greys
became more frequent, and they looked at us. Some seemed curious, but
did not approach, one glard at us with palpable hostility, but another
stood in his way and he turned from us. We made very sure to stick to
the path then. Usually, though it is not an absolute guarentee, you are
safe on the path, it is when you stray from it that you lose your way,
or get eaten, or something. So, we were lucky. As we got closer to the
other side, we were seeing more and more Therianthropes looking at, and
following us, but they just seemed curious. Finally, we came to the
landing. As it always is, there was a deep fog on the river. It is there
to keep travelers such as us from seeing or hearing the Land of the
Dead. If you are dead and desire passage there is a bell to ring, but
since we were not there for that we called out to the Ferryman and
waited. A long time too, but eventually he came, sculling his leaky old
boat across the water.
"He pulled up but did not come ashore. We bowed to him, and started to
explain to him the problem. He cut us off, though it didn't seem to be
rudeness so much as just he already knew. In a voice that was felt more
than heard he explained that the Land of the Dead and the dead in it are
ruled by Minos who was appointed by the Lord of Nightmares to the task.
He recieves the dead and deals with them as they need to be. What that
was he didn't say and we knew not to ask. Then he said no one leaves
unless the Lord of Nightmares allows it, and then he warned us that we
shouldn't take that to mean it had ever been allowed, only that that was
the only way out. The point was, and now we remember because it's the
answer to your question, no one on this side can call a dead person
back. Even those who call themselves "Mediums" and seek prophecy from
the dead are being fooled by beings on the Astral Plain, trickster
spirits, usually, the true dead cannot be called down by anyone living
on this side. Zellas has let her emotional need outstrip her reason, or
she would know this already. After that we knew he had said all he was
going to, so we gave him thanks. He left, and we now grasped our silver
cords, which were starting to glow and become very visible. That is the
signe the drink is wearing off and we are starting to return, so we just
grabbed on and started pulling ourselves back. And then, finally, we
returned."
Lina and Luna looked at each other. Then at Sylphiel and the Queen.
Finally, they cast their eyes down in resignation. Their fate was
sealed, they would be abused slaves, probably forever. Zellas would
never forgive them. The only question now was how to make sure she
didn't destroy the world.
"We have our answer, we must go back. I thank you, Your Majesty. I don't
think I will ever be allowed to return, and I think the same goes for
Lina and my parents. Please remember us kindly." sighed Luna as she
hugged a weepy Lina.
"How can we help?" asked the Queen.
"There is none." was the reply.
"I will do this much, as one of the travelers in the Astral plain I will
go with you and explain to Zellas. she can have me, as long as she
leaves the world alone." said Sylphiel.
"No, we are enough, thank you for your offer." sighed Luna.
"I wasn't offering, nor volunteering. I am coming either with you or
after you." said an unusually determined Sylphiel.
Lina and Luna looked at her, then at each other. "We should try to stop
you, but we haven't the heart to try. Come or stay as you wish." said
Luna, strangely subdued.
After that, there was nothing more to say, so the servants were finally
sent for and the Shamanists were tended to and everyone was fed, but
without joy. Plans were made, the girls would be spared a walk back by
being given a ship from the northern harbor, and they could sail back.
They accepted this, and thanked the Queen. But the agony of defeat was
clearly in them, they had finally run up against something they couldn't
defeat. With nothing else to do they went to bed, and did their best to
prepare to start in the morning.
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