Tiffany’s brow creased as her eyes swept the cave; she couldn’t see anything that would indicate something took her materials. “Edmon, is there anything nearby?” She asked through their telepathic link.

Edmon swiftly walked further into the cave, helmet turning to survey the area, massive shield appearing out of sapphire fog in his left hand.

Gwen tensed as she watched him leave the flame’s glow, moving outside her field of view. “S-something wrong?” They didn’t respond.

Tiffany bunched her cheeks to the right as she quickly took inventory of the items in her makeshift sack; nothing was missing. Her glowing orange irises lifted to Edmon as he responded.

“No, I have not sensed anything living enter the area, and neither has Quin. Why? Did you … I don’t see the pile of salts. Is that what has you concerned?”

“Yes,” she responded, moving to the stream’s edge to examine the spot; her Witch Fire followed her, keeping an even pace. “There hasn’t been a wind current strong enough to scatter it … there’s not a grain left.” She hummed darkly while dropping two flames back into the mineral-rich water to regather the materials, one holding nothing, while the other contained the remaining blood and methylmercury.

“Do you still have time to perform the Cleansing?”

“I should, but this worries me; I doubt this is a coincidence.” She quickly manipulated her energy, gathering what salt she could in the empty Witch Fire before taking it. She dropped its content beside the stream’s edge in the same place, manipulating the energy to form a random symbol. Once complete, she returned the orange fire to the water to collect more.

Edmon watched her while Quin moved a bit closer, the shift causing the creature to whimper again. “What do you want me to do?”

Getting up, Tiffany motioned for him to join her further down the stream, dragging her flames through the water. “Just keep watch, make sure nothing living enters the cave.”

“I’ve been doing that,” his tone was a growl in her mind. “Both Quin and I can sense the living … unless, are you concerned about that dark energy?”

“It’s a possibility,” Tiffany said, kneeling to study the materials she was gathering. “I don’t need a whole lot of these minerals. They’re important, but removing the amount I gathered before isn’t much of a problem. The issue is if something can interrupt the process while I’m in the middle of the ritual.”

Edmon shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know if any of my defenses can counter that energy. I could gamble on a few abilities, but that would require an expenditure of Skill Points; I’m hesitant to sacrifice them if you can guarantee a method of dealing with it yourself.”

“Perhaps, but I first must understand … ah, there you are.” She giggled, quickly rising to return to the symbol she’d made, Edmon following. Gwen was whispering to Dalria, but Tiffany was too focused on her discovery to pay her any mind.

“I see,” Edmon bent down to examine the floor. “The small pebbles around the area have changed position, and your symbol has been destroyed.”

A smirk lit her cheeks as she lifted a stone. “How fascinating. No wonder you didn’t sense anything; these aren’t alive, but merely tools.”

Edmon didn’t seem amused. “It seems I need to heighten my sensory abilities; if something like this can escape my notice, then I cannot defend against similar methods to attack our Empress.”

“Indeed,” Tiffany mused. Detaching a small section of her flame, she tossed the rock into it, thoroughly examining its properties. “It’s quite proficient, and similar to Witchcraft, but utilizes a different channeling method. I suspect that anyone that understands how to pull its strings can operate them.”

Finding a sort of embedded seal within the pebble, she infused her magic into it, experimenting with the circuits that branched into several directions. With testing, she discovered several behaviors she could activate. Ten legs sprout out of the rock, and they began alternating within her fire.

“This is actually quite sophisticated. I’m only scratching the surface of these little things … I wonder who created them. They’d make excellent spies and workers, but it doesn’t function well with Witchcraft, and that could also be the case with this entity's energy.

“It has a place for internal power and even transmitting capability along an odd wavelength. It’s similar to Drones on our Empress’ planet but doesn’t utilize the same technology or electricity. I can infuse my magic into it, but I couldn’t use it remotely, as it’s designed.”

She tossed the rock out, sending it bouncing across the ground before returning the fire to its main body. “Extremely durable, too, by the technology standards of humans.”

“Will it be an issue?”

“Not now, since I know what I’m dealing with.” She smiled as she looked around at the hundreds of stones surrounding them. “It seems my window will be tight, though, and that’s what this energy being wants. Too bad, it has underestimated me.”

She held out her makeshift sack to Edmon; he let out a low groan as his shield vanished, and he held it open for her. She extracted the pinkish flower from the jungle, Athemia’s Gift, and tossed it into the third ball of fire she conjured.

Bringing up her orange energy from the water, she took out a healthy chunk of salt from the pile that she’d been collecting with a cup of blood, and placed them in with the flower. Humming thoughtfully, she also added a handful of sulfur to the flame before returning the collection ball into the water for extraction.

She examined her ingredients of salt, blood, flower, and sulfur, judging if she had the proper amount. “This being of dark energy has us at a disadvantage. It knows much about this world and many of its workings; I suspect these tools were from some distant past, created by another civilization.”

“How do you know it didn’t create them?” Edmon asked, glaring at a small cluster of pebbles.

Tiffany began separating the pollen from the Athemia’s Gift as she spoke through their telepathic link and fed more magic to the flame housing her ingredients, expanding it. She manipulated the energy to create a hexagon shape with the sulfur, and the blood linked the edges, symbols curling between the sections.

“By the design and power source. I was able to take control of the device’s functions with my magic, and so could this dark entity. As I stated before, it is probably limited in its actions; although, my manipulations would likely be much more limited considering my lack of knowledge.

“So, before I can start on the Empress’ cleansing, I must cleanse this entire area. The seal I must do is much larger than what my Witch Fire can sustain; therefore, I need to work with the floor, but if these things are disrupting the process, then it will fail, and I will not fail. Let’s see how this entity likes this...

“Sulfur as the activator, vitality as the power and directed with the symbols. Salt as the purifying catalyst with the Athemia’s Gift pollen as the dispersal agent. It’s a quick fix, and will only keep the dark energy out for thirty minutes. This can’t purify the entity from the Empress’ phylactery … but will cut him off from his power, and give me space to work.”

Edmon folded the sack before crossing his arms. “Are you sure you’ll make it in time?”

“Cut off from the rest of its power, yes, but the energy already inside … it might be able to dig a little deeper into the Empress’ spirit for a short instant. It won’t be an issue, but it could gain access to a few of our master’s memories. I can’t think of what it might gain from that, but we should ask the Empress what she remembers when she awakens.”

“I feel useless,” Edmon growled.

“Patience,” Tiffany soothed. Gwen and Dalria jumped as she broke the silence. “A dark corruption fills this area, and with the purifying element of salt, powered by life, and given wings by the wind. Begone.”

She dropped the mixed salt and pollen onto the ritual; the symbols began to glow crimson as the mixture attached to the blood. After a few seconds, an explosion of wind shot past them.

Gwen tried to suppress a scream as she ducked, burying her head in her knees and shielding her face. Dalria tucked into a protective ball as Tiffany guarded the Protective Charm at her waist with her hands. The gust passed, and the dark energy was carried with the gale, the small pebbles blown with it.

Tiffany calmly fixed her bra and hair that had been blown out of place. She made sure the presence had been expelled before quickly starting to work. Extracting her spheres of energy from the stream, she motioned to Edmon to follow her further into the room.

“What a mess,” she mumbled, taking the sack out of his hands. Moving in straight lines, she dragged the Witch’s Fire housing the sulfur across the ground, creating a large octagon with it; there was plenty leftover, so she dropped it in a pile outside the ritual.

“Umm—T-Tiffany,” Gwen mumbled, glancing over at Dalria.

“I’m a little busy right now, dear,” Tiffany stated, sucking on her lip as she glanced at what remained of the blood in her fire. “It’s not enough … not nearly enough…”

I wanted to feed some of the beast’s vitality to the Empress to give her some Life Force back, but it seems I’ll have to use nearly every drop on this ritual. There won’t be much vitality left … what a miscalculation, and that includes the methylmercury I have left. Will there be enough to seal the ritual? If so, then it’ll be close … I just don’t have time. Perhaps the entity knows a little about what I plan through our link with the Empress.

Growling lowly, Tiffany scratched her forehead as she looked down at the bag attached to her waist; its orange glow was fading rapidly.

This entity … Dalria … they’re such a pain! They’ve made me waste so much time...

“I don’t have a choice,” she groaned, setting her pack down beside the octagon. “I need to use the beast to be positive. Quin, move out for a second.” He backed up, causing Dalria and Gwen to scoot further toward the entrance.

Edmon’s tone deepened. “I thought there wasn’t a problem with the ritual?”

“It’s … going to be a bit messier and more complicated than I thought.” She barked. “I’m being rushed to complete a fairly complicated ritual … there were bound to be some snags once I started working on it. Give me some credit … this is technically the first time I’ve done something of this scale.”

She took another deep breath as she looked at the whimpering large raccoon-like animal. “Alright, Edmon, cut it open, from the stomach, and don’t crush the organs.”

He released a low hum but walked forward without hesitation, his massive shield appearing from the fog. Separating the circular portion with his right hand, he walked toward the creature as Quin held it sideways in the air. The creature’s tail thrashed but did nothing to the giant.

Edmon pulled back his arm before his speed increased and he blurred in Tiffany’s eyes; he became clear, walking back toward her, shields collapsing into mist as he recalled them. The creature stiffened as a clean red line appeared on its stomach, and blood seeped through the open wound.

“Is that enough?” He asked.

She nodded while walking toward the dying creature. “Yes, now, Quin, could you open it up for me.” It released sharp jagged whimpers as Quin shifted to peel back its stomach. The stench of its innards spilling out made Gwen gag, and Dalria release a few croaks.

Tiffany combined the remaining ingredients into a single ball of Witch Fire, using the other two to collect the mess, gathering the pools of blood and organs that gushed out.

She listed the items she needed. “Two hearts? Interesting. That will come in handy.” She mused, feeling a bit of excitement return. “A liver that I can cut in two … wonderful, but only a single kidney. Hmm … I can make do with the extra heart instead.”

“W-what are you doing?” Gwen squeaked. “Dalria,” she cleared her throat, “Dalria thinks this is—is wrong … she thinks the ancestors will curse us for—for this type of worship.”

“Worship?” Tiffany chuckled. “Let her believe what she wishes.” She moved around the creature to the head, using her flames to pluck out its eyes. “Oh, Edmon, I actually need its brain too … I just hope it has two halves like humans.”

Edmon walked back to her sack, extracting the knife. “Why didn’t you tell me to do that before?” He growled, returning to slice open the flesh hiding the skull. Pressing the knife down, he carefully sliced open the bone before inserting his armored fingers and breaking it apart.

“Because I’m having to work in the field, Edmon. How many times do I … oh, it does have two halves!” She cheered, removing it with her energy. “Okay, this should work now.”

Moving back to the sulfur octagon, she cleaned off the organs of blood, separating the ingredients before painting a thick line with the blood, making two rings, an inner and outer layer. Using the third Witch Fire on the rings, she spread out the liquid, drawing the lines between the eight points and creating the intricate symbols and designs that linked each.

We have two minutes before the protection fails. I need to hurry, but I can’t make a mistake…

Removing the Protective Charm from her waist strap, she summoned her grimoire, placing the book at the center of the ritual and turned it to the second page. Tiffany set the charm housing Elinor on the blank page, circling it with the methylmercury.

Stepping back, she took great care in marking each section with blood, placing an organ on the activation point of each, near the center, each one facing its counterpart. Reaching the outer edges, she did the same on the outer ring, placing the salt on the corresponding catalyst points, and using the calcium carbonate to bridge each section and organ with a thin white line.

She bit her lower lip as she watched the charm’s fire fade, and all the ingredients inside evaporate into an orange fog, leaving the two black diamond earrings in the center of the mercury.

Swallowing, she stepped back to complete the ritual. “By eight paths of blood, linked with the base of bone, and powered by life; extract the evil found within to purify the host, and return it to the soil from which it came.”

The air began to hum as a pressure shot from the seal, and the lines burst into orange light; both diamond earrings lifted off the ground with her book, and though it couldn’t be seen by the naked eye, Tiffany could sense the dark entity being extracted as she directed the magic. Half the pinkish-white salt around the octagon slowly turned black.

“Darkness lost, and purity gained; protect these sacred artifacts with impunity that will ward off all infestations.”

The slight hum in the air gradually increased, releasing a stream of wind that howled through the tunnels. It sent her makeshift bag filled with ingredients flying back against a wall, materials scattering, and threw back Tiffany and Gwen’s hair as the gale increased. Each white line of calcium spiderwebbed with black symbols as the magic burned the design into the stone floor.

“Bind this spell with liquid metal and in the Witch’s language, be cinched in the pages of an eternal artifact.” Using her magic, she wrote the spell in her grimoire, using the methylmercury.

The organs started to wither as the linked vitality they still held was consumed, and the dark salt scattered with the wind as the octagon ritual sunk into the floor, blackening the stone three inches deep with its design.

After several more seconds, the wind and vibrating air died down. Her grimoire closed, finishing the ritual as the diamond earrings slowly dropped to the leather cover.

Tiffany took a deep breath before dropping to her butt and stretching out her neck. “That was a bit more intense than I thought it would be.” She moaned, still feeling the coursing magic rushing through her veins.

Bringing her free hand up, she watched it tremble for a moment. “I haven’t experienced channeling that much energy before; it’s to be expected, I am fairly young.” A bright smile lit her cheeks. “It was exhilarating.”

“It’s done?” Edmon asked, moving to the edge of the faintly glowing design, burned into the stone floor.

“Yes, the Empress is free…”

“Tiffany, Edmon,” Elinor’s relieved voice spoke in their minds.

Tiffany shivered slightly as she quickly rose to her feet, moving over the complete ritual to stand in front of her master. Yes, Empress, we are here.

“You’ve managed to completely remove it?”

Yes, I have constructed a permanent protective ward that is linked to my grimoire. So long as the page is intact, the ward will remain. That dark entity will not be able to take possession of you again.

“My Empress,” Edmon interjected. “We have a prisoner, and a human with us; we are currently inside a cave. Tiffany has constructed an illusion to provide us a temporary base for safety. I recommend we send Quin out to retrieve another creature for you to regain some strength.”

Tiffany swallowed nervously as Elinor went silent for a moment. “Thank you, Edmon, I think that would be wise. I leave the details to you.”

Edmon nodded, and Quin swiftly left the cave.

Clearing her throat, Tiffany took a deep breath. Empress … I, umm, I don’t know exactly how to tell you this, but…

“Yes, Tiffany,” Elinor’s sad tone struck at her heart, “I understand. You are not the parents I remember. Please, take a seat and relax.”

“It is still too soon, my Empress,” Edmon replied. “We are unable to communicate with the toad-woman, Dalria, without your abilities restored. However, Tiffany has linked the creature to the human, Gwen. I am uncomfortable having such an enemy in the hands of a human outside our direct control.”

Tiffany’s brow creased. Edmon, I told you, I’ll prepare a ritual to bind her to the Empress’ will. She will not refuse; her survival depends on our Empress’ grace.

They both fell silent as Elinor hummed. “I see, so you have managed to subdue Dalria … yes, I’ll speak with her myself. Thank you, Tiffany.”

Tiffany shot a smirk at Edmon; she knew he must be grinding his teeth, but her pleasant thoughts were soon brought to an even higher state.

“And Edmon, I completely understand your discomfort. I trust Tiffany knows what she’s doing, and to be sure; I’d like you to guard the two. I’ve got a lot to sort through, and I need some time to think. Please take care of things until Quin comes back.”

They both responded with enthusiasm. “Of course, my Empress.”

Edmon quickly moved back to the entrance to stand beside Gwen and Dalria; Gwen’s trembling voice echoing in the cave. “Umm—T-Tiffany, are—are you still there? Is everything okay?”

She responded with a happy chime. “Yes, Gwen, it was a success. Be a little more patient. Let me gather my materials, and I’ll come over to talk.”

Looking down at her Empress’ black earrings atop her book, she asked, Umm, Empress, I’m sorry to bother you, but what should I do with your phylactery while we wait for Quin?

“Ah,” Elinor sighed. “That’s right. Eh … just carry me in your hands. Thank you, Tiffany.”

It is my honor, Tiffany replied, bending down to pick up the earrings. She unsummoned her book and walked to the back of the cave. Using her one free hand, she began gathering her materials, humming softly.

She jumped when Elinor whispered in her mind; it was a personal communication. “My mom used to hum that when she was cooking … it’s a French song.”

Oh … does it bother you, my Empress?

“No … it’s soothing. Also, please refer to me as Elinor. I understand I’m an Empress now, but there are many types of Empresses, right? I’d like my subjects to view this Empire like … like a home … a family.”

I can, Elinor, Tiffany hesitated, but we will never be equals. You are the Empress, and there is nothing that can change that. We are merely units to command. If one of us were to fall, ten more…

“No!” Elinor yelled, this time broadcast to everyone.

Edmon stiffened. “Is something wrong, my Empress?”

“No, sorry, I just…”

“An Empress never apologizes,” Edmon stated. “Anything you command is right and must be followed.”

Elinor was silent for several more seconds, causing Tiffany to bite her lower lip. After a time, her tone softened. “I don’t wish to be that type of Empress, Edmon. I want you to think for yourselves, to be a support to me … isn’t that what I raised you for?”

“I … of course, you are right, my Empress, but … you cannot show weakness to the enemy, or they will use that against you. I must defend you against all threats.”

“Thank you,” Elinor whispered; Tiffany’s chest burned as her master spoke. “I want to lay down some rules … as your Empress. First, I know you will never see yourselves as my equal, and I’m actually alright with that, but I want you to understand your worth to me.

“I don’t see you as disposable soldiers … I could never see you like that. You aren’t my parents, but you have pieces of them inside you. I cannot lose that. Call me Elinor, not my Empress, or anything of the like.

“Second, I need a family … why else would I even want to live? I am interested in this new world, but I want to experience it with both of you, and whoever else we add. I don’t know what will happen in the future, but I know this … I need you. So, live knowing that I cannot lose you; that’s how precious you are to me … worth my own life.”

Edmon seemed to be struggling with that command. “I don’t … understand how I can feel nervous about your command … Elinor. I will follow your every desire, but … this puts you at great risk.”

Tiffany smiled down at the two earrings in her palm. Come now, Edmon! It’s not that difficult to wrap your head around. It just means we cannot die. She’s ordering us not to die, and to treat her like the new and growing Empress she is. To help her blossom like any normal parent would desire.

He chuckled tiredly. “I suppose you’re right, Tiffany … as much as I hate to admit it.” Taking a deep breath, he said, “If that is your command, Elinor, then we shall obey.”

Elinor’s voice brightened. “I’m glad we could sort that out, and it looks like Quin’s fairly happy too. He just found another creature and is bringing it back. I also told my skeletal toad to return. I’m having him be cautious since he’s my only link to being able to speak to the toads. He’ll be here before long.”

Tiffany couldn’t repress the joy she felt in her core. Thank you for being so patient with us, Elinor. We will do our best to live up to your expectations.