This is Chapter 10-1 of a serial fantasy novel.
The temple flew from June, exploding away at every angle, trailing brilliant purple jets. The jets dissolved into a stormy cloud of twinkling red sparks, each one the centre of a web of filaments. The little strands filled the whole world, creating a fuzzy pink backdrop. She floated, free of physical form, nothing but her two blue crystals. She orbited one of the sparks: the big bright one that stood for Wood Ribbon South.
Every sound, feeling, taste and scent from the town and its neighbours flooded over her, growing into a full-body static. Her Bodyanchor Artwork prevented the chaotic kaleidoscope of sensation from overwhelming her as she began to filter and focus on the ones that she wanted.
It had been far too long since she’d bathed fully in the sweep of a strong mindtether, and it took a little longer than usual to orient. The town’s communal stone might not be much, but it had a firm network with the larger Callipsus system. As she eased her way into the right streams, individual pieces resolved—the dry air and quiet conversation in other temples, a whiff of some kind of pie being advertised by a baker in a nearby town, request bulletins, public wonderments, tasking requests...
Junelight assembled the memory of her son, stilling the creeping urge to cry out. It was always so much more intense in the mindtether. Uliyah surfaced, all too real. His round face, his mop of messy black hair. Eyes like hers, almost almond shaped, with the tiniest taper at their edge. Nose like his father’s—wide and short. Smile like no other, a tiny chip in his front left tooth. She worked hard to close the smile into something more neutral, even sad, though it pained her heart. June dirtied his face, and imagined him worn and tired and—drown her in Culdur—a touch malnourished. When she could take no more, she sent her own bulletin, and tagged it with high urgency.
Her son sped away, fading into the swirling lights. She waited, and spent some time opening herself up to others’ requests and issues. This part of the world was not in any quick need for a Chillcrafter, much less one from the Ghost Tide. There were, of course, many miscellaneous requests for her Sect radiating out of Pinedeck and its surrounding area, but she had no interest in exploring them.
Nothing twinged at her, no replies. No news.
It was time to contact her Luminary. She angled her concentration northward. A chain of stones, starting with Wood Ribbon South’s, burned brighter than the rest. One by one, they pulsed and joined in a line, tracing a twig of a constellation up past the mountain towns and then west out to the sea. As she moved along the chain, the sensations and buzz from the rest of the general mindtether dimmed.
Further and further, it faded until only the path she followed stood out, the background lost to an inky blackness. Eventually, she came to a blue dot of light—a Culdurian town on the coast. Her crystals stirred, recognizing their Aspect, and she let them sync. The long chain of lights blazed blue. June’s perception stretched along the path, part of her anchored in Wood Ribbon South, and part of her latched onto the azure stone. She let go of the effort of holding it all together, trusting her synced crystals do the work. She leaned her thoughts to the idea of swishing waves, salty air, and warbling seabirds.
The sharp scent of the sea found her. The smell of home guided her into the blue light, and her basic senses manifested in a modest room beside a tiny communal stone. This was the seatown’s temple—a tiny room atop a stone structure on a bluff, overlooking a small beacon village set up for landlocked Culdurians, or those bound for the coast.
She kept her projection invisible, lest she startle some poor visitor, though the place appeared empty at the moment. She pushed more of her sensory reception into this new temple, aware that her physical body would now be lit up like a blue sun back in Wood Ribbon South. She kept an autonomous cycle of Bodyanchor Artwork running over there, which would rip her back if anything untoward happened. The stones from the two temples happily lent her the required energy.
Satisfied that the connection was solid, June took a moment to enjoy the stony interior, which was still morning-lit through rusted, iron-wrought windows. Some fresh hay had been thrown around as a rough carpet. There were crates in one corner. The wash and rumble of Culdur echoed from outside, and there was a steady, unrushed creaking that sounded like a boat’s rope tugging against its restraints.
She floated up over to the window, hoping for a glance at the water. The view pointed along the coast, so she couldn’t quite see the full expanse of the ocean, but the breaking waves, brown beach and glinting sun sparkle were all a wondrous and welcome sight. One day, perhaps, she’d visit this beacon in the flesh and walk barefoot in the sand. Take Uli here, and teach him how to use Seapath Artwork.
Spirited by the idea, she got down to business. There were only a dozen or so filaments sprouting from the stone, and she found one that arced out towards the sea. She encrypted a shard and sent it along. Somewhere out there, a monitor in the Ghost Tide would match the encryption and pass along her request. It usually took less than a minute.
These users get pinged on new parts & earn occasional token airdrops!
Thank you for reading. I own the license for all images in this post. Original cover art by jmz_creative. Follow me or the #childseekerswar tag so you don't miss new parts! I can also @ tag folks to alert you, just ask in the comments to join the readlist.
