For a moment, the information pouring into my mind was too much. My eyes were picking up details that couldn’t be, getting lost in the strange eddies of magic swirling around the Being before me, my ears tried to parse the ephemeral sounds filling the air and my nose and tongue were utterly overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of scents and tastes, mundane and magical, that suddenly filled the air. It was as if I was a leaf in a tornado, getting twisted hither and tither, my mind unable to follow everything that was going on. It was just far too much, forcing me to briefly close my mind, narrowing my focus until I could handle the sensory input. Blinking my eyes back open, I made the mistake of looking into the Being’s eyes, only to fall into the swirl of magic, unable to break the connection as my mind was adrift once more. Luckily, the Being reached out with one of her hands, shielding my eyes and breaking the connection, allowing me to rally one more time, while I could hear a strange, multitonal laughter echoing in the emptiness around me.

Once my eyes were open once more, I carefully controlled them, trying to take in the area around us, only to realise that there was none. It was as if we were in some strange, empty place, with only darkness overhead and an endless, silver-grey expanse stretching out in all directions around us. There seemed to be some mountains and craters, but I couldn’t really see them, as they simply vanished in the monotone of the place. Only the horizon, a stark divide between silver-grey and deep, empty blackness was clear, everything else was fuzzy.

Even the Being before me was somewhat fuzzy, but maybe that was for the best. By carefully letting my eyes drift, never quite focusing on the being, I was able to get a bit of an idea of what she looked like, only that I could feel it wasn’t her true face. It was still the statue I had carved, the features hadn’t changed, and yet, it was so much more. The Being had an inner glow, an aura of power, that just blew me away and a part of me wanted to simply marvel at the power before me, abase myself and simply bask in Her glory.

Steeling my mind, I pushed that impulse away, I had a purpose and my purpose was not to worship Hecate. She was to be admired, no doubt, but I wasn’t about to throw away what I was, just to kneel before this power.

“Greetings, young ones,” the Being spoke, Her voice having a strange, echoing quality to it, alongside an odd tritonal sound, as if there were three people speaking at the same time, but not with exactly the same cadence. One a young woman, the second an older woman, one who was confident with her position in the world and the last one the carefully measured, somewhat slower voice of an elderly lady. Somebody who had seen it all, had experienced everything there was an didn’t feel the need to make a huge fuss about things. Aloof, maybe a little disconnected, but still filled with experience and wisdom.

“Greetings, Lady Hecate. If my actions cause any offence, I assure you that the offence was caused by ignorance, not malice or arrogance,” I immediately returned the salutations, hoping to smooth the way with a preemptive apology.

“And is ignorance not something I should take offence to, just the same?” the Beign asked, not in an angry or sharp voice, but more in the voice of a teacher, curious what the pupil might respond with.

“Ignorance can be corrected by education, education requires resources and information, both of which I lack access to,” I replied, though I had to swallow in order to get my words out properly. Otherwise, they might have choked me up, simply due to the amount of power swirling around us. I couldn’t even feel Sabrina or Silva, it was as if I was all alone before the Lady Hecate. Luckily, my response seemed to have been the correct one, or at least one the Goddess before me didn’t take offence with, for the only reply I received was the same, amused laughter I had heard before. Once the laughter faded, the Goddess spoke again.

“Now, you created this circle, a quite curious design to be sure, and the Idol in its middle for a certain purpose. I want you to explain to me your purpose and why I should grant you the boon you desired,” She challenged, still using the same tritonal voice and sounding like a teacher who tried to get Her students to explain a problem to them.

“The circle was altered from a design I received during my travels on Mundus, the idol crafted by my magic, though I believe that there was some outside inspiration as well. We asked for Your presence because Silva, the hound You have been granting powers to, led my companions and me to a young girl. Given the traits this young girl showed, I came to the conclusion that You wanted to communicate with her, and possibly take her into Your service,” I explained, my voice a little steadier than it had been before.

“Yes, young Sabrina. A maiden if there ever was one. And the design, it is quite amusing, you know? Some of its parts were made to connect you to another, a Crone you know as the Grandmother. Leading us to our current situation,” the voice explained, making me wonder what parts I had overlooked, I thought I had removed any direct connections to the Grandmother. But apparently, I had failed.

“Now, you need to make a decision, young one. Will you be the Mother to the young Maiden, to guide her, teach her and help her flourish?” Lady Hecate asked, the question deceptively simple and yet, I got the feeling that there was far more to it than immediately obvious. But regardless of what more the question might imply, I could easily answer the surface meaning of it. Even if Hecate wasn’t about to take Sabrina into Her service, I would remain her mother, simply because she needed one. I wasn’t sure how I could do it, there would be numerous difficulties and problems, and yet, the response was never in question, not after those last couple of days we had spent together.

“I will. She is my daughter and I would be honoured if You would give us your blessing,” I replied, the words feeling right to my mind while they made a strangely warm feeling fill up my chest, almost to the point of bursting.

“So it is said, so mote it be, young Mother. Quite impressive, I have to say, two daughters, one the first of her entire kind, and not a father in sight. You will have to work extra hard, to provide for your daughters, to guide them and be an example for them to look up to. It can be a difficult task, one that undoubtedly will challenge you many times but I believe you will be a good Mother,” the Goddess told me, the earlier amused, almost teasing, tone gone from her voice. Instead, it was now filled with an encouraging warmth that brought a soft smile to my face.

“Your daughter, the young Maiden, will have my blessing, just like you have, young Mother. Even the Crone, far away from the two of you, has my blessing, it will be interesting where she goes from here. Once you are able, speak to her, I believe it will be a fascinating conversation for both of you,” She continued, making me wonder just how much more meaning than the obvious was behind Her words.

Maiden, Mother Crone, the three facets of Her, and now She connected them with Sabrina, the Grandmother and myself. Countless questions sprung forth in my mind, far too many to easily make sense of, or even fully formulate as my mind tried to make sense of the information I was given.

“You have brought a new Maiden to me, so I shall answer a single question of yours. Chose wisely, for it is a boon I rarely give,” the Goddess spoke up before I managed to reign in my whirling mind. Mentally cursing, I tried to distil the multitude of questions swirling around within me to a single one, to find the most important one I wanted to have answered. Who knew if I would ever get to talk to a Goddess again, let alone one who offered me a boon like this?

“You know of my love, Sigmir of Mundus, who died to save me. My question is, what power do I need to return her to me, hale in body, mind and soul?” I asked, ignoring anything that might have to do with Sabrina, Silva or the situation Terra was currently in. Those, I could find an answer for myself, but this question was one I might not be able to answer, regardless of how long I searched.

“My, what an interesting question. You would need Mastery over Life, Dominion over Souls and deep insight into the mysteries of the Mind,” the tritonal voice mused, the primary voice now that slow, measured one, “You, by yourself, won’t be able to attain them all, unless you shatter the Path you walk on. But that doesn’t mean your desire is an impossible one, you merely need to think outside the box. What can you do, if you can’t do something by yourself?” She explained. The answer wasn’t the one I had hoped for but maybe I should have expected that my desire wasn’t one easily achieved.

Shattering my Path was unthinkable. It had become part of who I was, Magic and the Arcane Path were not something I was willing to give up, not without a fight. I would have to consider why my path made the three things she mentioned impossible to attain and find a way to gain access to them anyway. Maybe it was simply a question of needing the right help, to borrow an ability I couldn’t have.