Blood Ties

“What is it you wish to do?” Rennock's tone was one of cautious intrigue. Morwyn drew in several deep breaths and focused on a key detail she had noticed, the boundary between the layers of blood and frost. There was a minute space between them as if the blood recoiled from or was repelled by the frost. Something about their natures kept them from mingling now that they had separated.

“The layers of magic are out of sorts. I've found that it's easiest to channel whatever is on the outside, and with the... the blood magic, I suppose, on the surface...” Her voice trailed off for a moment as she grappled with crippling fear of herself, as well as the hope that she might prevent catastrophe. “I think it's in danger of being released against my will if it remains there and I can't let that happen. Can you help me put them in order?”

“I can certainly try,” Rennock responded resolutely. “Before you begin, and with your permission, I will link my mind to yours. It will be somewhat invasive but experimenting with magic, especially magic that you do not understand, can have ruinous results. It would ease my mind to be able to intervene directly if necessary.”

Morwyn hesitated for a moment then nodded. She felt two of Rennock's fingers on each of her temples and there was a brief jolt of power. Suddenly she sensed an immense and extraordinary power encompass her mindscape, so far beyond the scale of her own that for a moment it frightened her. Warmth and kindness radiated from the presence as Rennock's mind joined her own, though it was like sharing a confined space with a dear friend. Their essences were separate and distinct but the proximity was still uncomfortable. She felt disoriented and crowded within her own head for a moment.

*I am with you, dear one. I can now see what lies within you, and I understand it in a way that I never could have before. Your magic is raw, unchained by the structures that govern other magics. It is beautiful. Frightening, yes, but beautiful. The potential...*

Perturbed by his musings, Morwyn swallowed hard. She did her best to tune out the physical world and give all of her attention to the immaterial.

I don't think pushing the blood deeper inside will work, Morwyn thought, demonstrating her theory with a nudge against the dark crimson quagmire on the outer ring. It morphed and shifted and tried to latch on to her probe before she withdrew the pressure. Do you think I should try and draw the others out?

*It is worth a try. You have control over them in a way that you do not with the magic of your father.*

Steeling herself to the task, Morwyn coaxed a thin stream of golden life magic to flow through the frost as she had done many times now. It did as expected until it made contact with the blood ring, which refused to part and allow it through. The golden light pooled for a moment then began to fizzle and spark. The blood magic seemed to be absorbing it rather than letting it pass through. She released her channeling with a curse and paused to assess her options.

The blood would not allow the light to pass through, though she assumed that the frost could because it seemed to repel the blood. If she drew the frost out first, the light would be consumed by the blood upon contact. She couldn't imagine the effort it might take to force one deeper than another, or the consequences if she tried to do so and failed. She had to draw the inner rings outward, but how?

*Perhaps you can separate the blood magic with a wide layer of frost then allow the light to pass through its center. Use the frost to open the door, so to speak.*

Maybe, but I'm not sure I have enough control to do so, she thought, then quickly expressed another. I suppose there are advantages to having you in my mind. I don't have to explain my thoughts since you're in here with me. But I can't read yours in return, which doesn't seem fair.

*That is by design, dear one. Come, let us try. I will assist you as best I can.*

Are you sure you can contain it if something goes wrong, if I lose control?

There was a tense, heavy pause before he responded.

*No. But you have my word that I will do everything I can to preserve you in the event of such a failure.*

Morwyn hoped that Rennock's faltering ward was stout enough to contain an unmitigated release of her power. Somehow it had miraculously withstood the wrath of a goddess, but it was no longer at full capacity. Hoping against hope that she wasn't making the biggest mistake of her life, she relaxed her hold on the frost and called it forth. Stirred to action by her call it flowed easily through the ring of blood, displacing it like water pouring through oil. Her arms grew cold for a moment before she managed to rein it in, forcing it to remain in her core and directing it to split and spread to encircle the blood.

She struggled to maintain concentration on control and containment at the same time and her efforts faltered. The frost she'd pulled forth threatened to slip out of her grasp and into the world before Rennock's presence tightened around it, like two giant hands cupping in a circle around her core. Emboldened by the support and able to focus her efforts to directing the frost instead of containing it, Morwyn allowed the it to flow into the newly defined perimeter. A shallow ring of deep azure gradually encircled the blood, which bubbled angrily in response but failed to penetrate its new boundary. The frost lashed back against the blood as if to keep it in place then crystallized into jagged spikes facing inward.

So far so good, Morwyn thought, though she wasn't certain the reaction boded well. Rennock didn't respond directly but she felt a pulse of approval and encouragement emanate from his looming essence.

Instinctively knowing that the old wizard wouldn't be able to help her juggle the next step, Morwyn drew in several deep breaths and attempted something she never had before- channeling two of her magics at once. Her life magic responded sluggishly, almost tentatively to her call as she willed it to flow through the widening channel that the frost cut through the blood. Hope swelled within her as the stream of golden light worked its way through and began to follow the flow of the frost on the outer perimeter. It was dangerously thin in comparison to the vastness of the other sources of power, hardly more than a wavering golden thread encircling her core, but it grew increasingly steady as more of the light managed to squeeze through and reinforce itself.

With a mind of its own the blood made its move when the small pool of life magic was nearly halfway through its transition to form the outer ring. It crashed with a terrible fury against the breach created by the frost from both sides, the immense pressure nearly choking off the flow as it fought like mad to avoid constraint. In a near panic Morwyn's control over the frost slipped and it flooded out to combat the attack with a vengeance. The inner turmoil threatened to overwhelm her as the frost and the blood raged against each other. The already fragile ring of golden light that surrounded it all was breached in half a dozen places and escaping frost met the resistance of Rennock's containment. A mere moment later it pierced through that as well and began to rush out of her body.

She heard a grunt of pain in the outside world and the old man redoubled his efforts, clamping down to hold everything in its place though a small stream of frost continued to leak out. Morwyn called forth to the remainder of her life magic, demanding that it empty itself into the outer ring with one final push before she lost control entirely. Reminiscent of when she'd first snatched it up in the aftermath of the failed scroll, she clawed and pulled at it with her mind in a panic. Her command of the magic wavered as crippling pain jolted through her body and her muscles seized. She couldn't draw a breath. Her pulse thundered with the erratic beating of her heart.

A horrible screeching sound echoed through her mind and the last of the golden light tore free and fled through the breach, leaving behind a void at the center of her core that was immediately flooded with frost. She gasped as her locked muscles were freed from their torment and focused her efforts on stabilizing the delicate golden ring that remained blessedly intact, if only just. The frost and blood still battled for dominance beneath it. They started to lose cohesion and battered at each other like two rabid wolves backed into a corner.

Not knowing what else to do, Morwyn released her control of the frost entirely and begged it to flow forth, focusing all of her mental effort into reinforcing her life magic and leaving the containment of her core entirely to Rennock. The frost ran deep but she also knew it to be finite. If she could hold on for but a moment longer it would rush outward and leave the boiling, raging blood contained in the center.

It was a terrifying sensation to feel her heart stop beating.

The absence of the ceaseless thumping within her chest left her with nothing but a hollow stillness where the rhythm of life should have been. Her body screamed as if on fire but her blood refused to move through her veins unaided. Her head began to spin, heedless of her gasping breaths and panicked shaking. Something had gone wrong though she had no idea what. She'd relied entirely on instinct, and instinct alone could not give her any answers. Morwyn was nearly driven out of her mindscape by the agony but managed to remain with the last vestiges of her mental strength.

Rennock's presence within her mind shifted, no longer simply lingering on the outside while lending aid to her containment efforts. There was something else, a danger the likes of which she could not comprehend. His assistance didn't waver but she could sense that he had prepared something else of incredible violence that was on the cusp of being unleashed... toward her.

Fear and desperation seized her with equal measure and Morwyn threw everything she had into emptying the frost from her core in order to force a vacuum that the blood would have no choice but to fill. Waves of icy chill and searing heat wracked her body in turn as the two opposing forces crashed against each other over and over as they battled for both dominance and release. Her frantic efforts drained the frost with an agonizing slowness but eventually the last vestiges drained into the second ring and forced the blood into a boiling, thrashing crimson sphere at her center.

Everything was in place as she'd hoped, yet still the two magics raged against one another. There was no stability, no satisfaction, no sweet relief. She was at war with herself and could do nothing to stop it.

“I apologize, Miss Shrike. This is going to hurt.”

Morwyn heard Rennock's voice with her ears, not within her mind, and a second later her chest exploded with pain so intense that it completely overrode that which she already suffered. She let out a strangled cry and toppled over backwards, her chest heaving as her muscles spasmed. Her eyes shot open and she looked up in fright to see Rennock looming over her, blue lightning flickering between his hands once more. She scuttled backward along the ground to get away from him and her head rebounded painfully off of the ward. Her heart pounded as she realized that her failure to contain her magic was going to cost her everything. Rennock must've decided she was too dangerous to be left alive. She threw up her hands in a vain gesture to delay her inevitable fate.

Several tense seconds passed before realization struck her like a hammer blow. Her heart pounded. It was no longer still. And most importantly, Rennock hadn't vaporized her with a blast of lightning.

She lowered her hands and looked up at him in confusion as the twitching of her muscles began to lessen.

“I am sorry,” Rennock said as the writhing blue electricity faded from his hands. A haggard smile graced his features as he reached down to help her up. “I had to resort to a rather... unconventional method to save your life.”

Haunted by the memory of her heart's disconcerting stillness, Morwyn gingerly touched the upper left side of her chest with her fingertips and recoiled from the heat emanating in waves from her chain-mail. After a moment she took Rennock's hand and regained her feet. Every movement was a painful reminder that she was, indeed, quite alive, and she could smell the scorched fabric of her arming jacket where it made contact with her armor.

“What did you do?” she asked with a grimace, rubbing her temples as she stumbled slightly. Rennock's hand rested on her shoulder to steady her. “Gods, that hurt more than whatever was going wrong on the inside.”

“I sensed that your body was failing, as was your grasp of your magic. The only thing I could think to do was to shock your system, both mind and body. Pardon the pun and please do not tell Miss Willowbend that I struck you with lightning. I have performed such emergency aid before, but success is not guaranteed and I doubt she would approve of the method.”

“Wouldn't dream of it,” she murmured. Morwyn sucked air through clenched teeth as she fought to regain her senses. “In fact, I think this entire event should remain between the two of us. Not just for security's sake, but to avoid her wrath as best we can.”

“Agreed,” Rennock nodded sagely. He laid a hand on her forearm and a brief pulse of healing magic shot through her, soothing the pain in her chest. “That should help a bit. How do you feel?”

Morwyn took a moment to assess herself. Physically she ached all over, but it was now difficult to discern whether it was pain that lingered from the battle or from Rennock's timely lightning bolt. With frayed nerves she dared a brief internal glance at her core. The three rings of power, now ordered as she intended, twitched and swirled sluggishly as if they had been stunned. She still felt out of sorts but at least the frost and the blood had ceased their frightful struggle. Most importantly of all she could no longer feel the brunt of the blood magic's insidious thirst. It was still there, but was severely muted by the frost that now held it prisoner at her very center.

“I'm fine. As fine as I can be anyway, given the circumstances. Everything seems to be relatively stable... do you think this has bought us some time? Until I can learn to control it, I mean.”

Rennock gave her a nod of satisfaction then bent over to retrieve his pipe from where he'd dropped it during their struggle. He tapped out the ashes against the protrusion of stone they'd used for a seat and slipped it back into the depths of his robes.

“I do believe so, though it is hard to say with certainty. I do not wish to trivialize your suffering and I am not prone to exaggeration but we may have just shared the most important magical discovery of this age. Quite frankly I am astonished at what we have just accomplished. The power inherited from your mother not only cloaks your other heritage, it also counteracts it. I have never known a magic that could check that of a blood dragon in such a way and I could not say whether this interaction was intended or simply a lucky coincidence. Either way, the lineage of your father is hidden once more and it appears to be contained for the time being.”

“Well that's reassuring,” Morwyn said with a roll of her eyes. She immediately regretted the reflexive action as they were still sore from the brilliance of the Moonmother's assault. “I don't suppose I'll be able to ask them what they intended for me, will I?”

The old wizard's thoughtful expression drooped and he shook his head.

“No, dear one, I should think not. I have not had contact with your father for half a millennium, and it would be... unwise to seek out your mother. Rimael is said to have no patience for mortals, as is the case with all of the Primordials. It begs the question of why she and Krevadhur would come together to produce an offspring.”

Morwyn's head swam from the absurdity of being the center of such a discussion. She understood precious little of magic beyond her brief studies and dangerous experiments. She was so far out of her depth that Rennock's words fell on half-deaf ears. All she knew was that the power inside her had settled into something that felt more secure, more steady. With yet another sigh in a night of countless sighs, she scratched idly at the scale on her left hand. At least it wasn't bleeding anymore after the old man had given her some healing. As an afterthought she pulled on her gloves to hide its crimson gleam. It would be difficult enough to explain away in the morning and she wanted nothing more than to fall into bed without inquiry from the others.

“You did warn me this conversation would be distressing, but I've hit the limit of what I can take without losing my sanity. I would very much like to put the issue to rest for now and get some sleep. That said, I do have one question before we return to camp.”

“Of course. What is it you wish to know?”

Morwyn rubbed the back of her neck with one hand, embarrassed to ask something so trivial after the magnitude of everything they'd spoken of that night.

“If my mother is the essence of winter and my father is a dragon... then why am I human-shaped?”

Rennock chuckled deeply as he snapped his fingers. The ward that encompassed them dissolved in a multitude of dim sparks that drifted lazily to the ground. He beckoned for her to follow him, which she did in an exhausted shuffle.

“I am sorry, Miss Shrike. I have no idea.”