《Cornerstone (rough draft)》Chapter 4: The call unanswered
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Laura did not usually care about the aesthetic quality of a spell or ritual. Either it worked or it didn’t. She wasn’t a scribe that spent hours reviewing and salivating over countless runes. This ritual, on the other hand, was pure art. It was so intricately and elegantly designed that even a layman would know it was special. The ritual was a hundred meters in diameter. It was a giant circle with hundreds of interwoven runes and sigils spiraling towards the center circles. The sigils on the floor were inlaid with various powders and pastes to improve the conductivity of the various elements involved in the process. The overall effect from the center took her breath away. I feel like I am in a craggy field of wildflowers.
She now stood upon one of the central circles. This circle was significantly smaller than the other one, only three feet in diameter. It was scribed to both protect and channel power through her to the portal.
Buzz! Runes began to glow and vibrate around the edge as the first batch of a dozen ritualists began to activate the ritual. After a couple of seconds, they slumped away in exhaustion before another dozen could take their place. After the fourth time, happened the outer perimeter was fully lit up and started to spiral towards the center. When the runes finally reached her, one artificer went to each of the black metal cylinders and channeled their way power into it to dazzling effect. The black cylinders started spinning before starting to grow. From about three feet tall they started going up. It was like a drill emerging from the earth. When they stopped each was an eight-foot spiraling tower.
Light spilled through and over the circle she was standing in before she mentally opened the floodgates and drew it in. As the first trickles reached her everyone in the ritual simultaneously started banging a staff on the ground in a rhythmic pattern.
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It was time. Her duty at this point was to act as a conduit for the entire process. The power filled her to the brim. Then as described in the book the world faded away, till all that existed was a great void. She was seeing into the space between worlds. By now she was starting to get bloated, never before having held a fraction of this much power. Small cuts the size of a grain of rice opened up on her skin. First one, then four, then a dozen and more before she could even react. A quick attempt to shield herself with mana failed spectacularly when it became obvious the cuts came from the inside. The power of the ritual was just too much for her to handle. Her mind scrambled to recall what she had to do next. Then it came back in a flash. Hands out front and palms apart, she PUSHED!
Every shred of power shook at her newfound resolve. No more did it rampage in her body. Instead, it flowed out towards the other circle In front of her. She wove the strands into a complex, multicolor weave that once at the destination started to meld with the fabric of reality itself. As it bound itself to the world it also began to unravel it. Once it was all in place a wide hole had been drilled out. Inside she could see that same vastness from a moment before and knew everything was working.
Now came the call. She placed her hands forward palms up and intoned the incantation. “We call upon the one whose duty is to judge and condemn. He who balances the scales, come forth and bestow your favor upon us. So that we may lay our enemies low and live in prosperity.” Ugh, who even wrote this nonsense? It is so embarrassing.
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For a second nothing changed. Everyone held their breath in anticipation of the coming spectacle. All that came out of the portal was a small card, spit out from the side as if an afterthought.
Reality rewove itself and the world returned to normal. Everything was silent until Laura picked up the card and examined it.
Jack Hearth
Age:17
Eye color: brown
Hair color: black
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 130 lbs
The face in the image was that of an emaciated boy with hard eyes. This can’t be right. Wasn’t he supposed to be some hero of legend? Why does he look like some kid from the orphan district? Laura had a sinking feeling that they had just bitten off more than they could chew.
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