While her hooved companions squealed in protest, Iolara did her best to tune the noise out of her mind. Allowing her eyes to come to rest on the horizon with a soft focus, the young Charoda stilled her mind and reached once more into her pool of djed. She could feel exhaustion setting in from using even the moderate amount she had practicing in such a short amount of time. But she was determined to get this last thing right before she allowed herself to quit. Once again exhaling her djed into wisps of res, floating on the air before her face, Iolara focused on her desired outcome: a rotating pillar of water, rising from the sea.
Forming and shaping her ball of res into another small disc, Iolara set about putting the disc into rotation. As it spun, she willed an attraction to her element, and was pleased to see the sea respond again. This time, as the water beneath her disc bulged upwards, it began to rotate in time with the spinning disc of res. Exhaustion gnawed at the edge of her mind, but Iolara strove to keep her focus. As the water met her res, the young witch began willing the disc to rise once more, taking the spinning column of water with it.
The progress was slow. Slower than she would have liked. Before her eyes, the rotation faltered and slowed further. Then it stopped. The attraction, however, did not. More and more water rose to meet her disc, until a mound of water stood before her, equal in height above the surface. Iolara’s heart began to beat faster as she realized she had lost control of her own spell.
“More. It needs more!” came the voice from within her head, along with a feeling that was near euphoric. In her panicked and bleary state, the young Charoda was unable to distinguish the whispers from her own internal voice. She desperately wanted to cast more, to feed the euphoria in her own head. But today was the day that her mental exhaustion won out. Her focus lapsed. The disc of res evaporated into the air. And Iolara fell face-first into the waves, unconscious.
When she finally awoke, Syna had gone to rest and Leth had taken her place. His pale, silver light cast the beach around her in an eerie light. Iolara sat up slowly, a pounding headache reverberating between her eyes. As she sat up, her hands fell to push up from the ground. But rather than sand, there was only soft, hairy flesh. Io started in fright before being greeted with a familiar grunt, almost a chuckle. It was just a pig. The same pig that had nuzzled her knees and hands earlier that same day.
The tide had come in, washing Iolara further upon the shore than she remembered being. From the pig beside her, Caiyha’s gift allowed her to sense its concern, as well as joy now that she was awake. Iolara sent back similar feelings, fighting through the throbbing pain in her skull. Ruffling the pig’s pink ears gently, Iolara stood in a series of jerking, halting motions. As she stood, a metallic twang within her mouth gave her pause. Blood, she thought with a frown. I’ll need to be far more careful in the future. For now, though, her only concern was returning to her secure sanctum beneath the waves by way of the village. The pig accompanied her a short way down the moonlit beach, sticking close to the surf so as to avoid the dangers of the jungle. Iolara felt it was going to be a very unpleasant next few days. word count617
|
|