Page 18 of Ceridor

Spotting the rising sun cutting in around the tree trunks and casting a golden glow through town, I oriented myself to the east and squared my shoulders, sinking into the mental space wherein I sought connection with my deepest self.

Swinging my arms overhead, I clapped my palms together in case the gods weren't listening, then began the daily invocation and banishing ritual that brought the practitioner closer in line with Nature and its elements.

I drew the symbol for Air and set it alight in yellow flame. The symbol opened a portal to the god of the element and all the relevant symbolic correspondences. As the flaming yellow symbol opened and widened, I sang the invocation of Air and asked that it bless me and nurture my self-unfolding. With my inhalation I took in the yellow flame through my solar plexus, and with it all of the correspondences of Air, so that I might be more closely aligned with it. I imagined that it filled me to the brim, till I myself glowed yellow.

I sang the hymn to the god of Air, then with their guidance and protection, I drew the symbol in reverse and banished all unbalanced manifestations of Air. I took a deep breath in, and then blew out in a whoosh and swept my arms up, mentally banishing anything unbalanced far away from me into nothingness. Last of all, I clasped my hands together and bowed in thanks.

"I felt the wind blowing," whispered Johann, almost to himself.

I nodded in approval but didn't speak to him, instead rotating around to the south wherein I drew the symbol for Fire.

In this way I declared peace in the four corners of the world with the cardinal directions and the magical elements from the Renaissance: Air, Fire, Water, Earth. Though I worked with the corners, this was no square. Rather it was a rotation around, a Sphere of Protection.

At the gate of Water, I invoked the Antlered One. As always, he appeared in my mind's eye so readily it gave me pause. Though he was an old god from ancient Gaul, his connection to the Danube River ran back millennia, and I'd even caught him—or more likely, a follower of his that reflected his likeness—walking through the Alpine woods a couple of times.

"Wow..." said Johann in awe, and I wondered what he was able to perceive of all this. I kept focused on the ritual, since we would talk later, but his little gasps told me he could at least sense something out of the ordinary, and that made me proud.

After completing the gate of Earth, I rotated back around to the east where I'd begun. There, I did three invocations of Spirit—below, above, and within—for a total of seven gates.

After all seven invocations, with the presence of the gods, I closed my eyes and held still and prayed for a moment. I introduced them to Johann, in case they noticed him there with me and watching. Other than that, I thanked them for my safety over the last day, and for their protection over me when I helped to get Effie and Johann out of West Danube. Then I listened for as long as I'd prayed, in case they wanted to tell me anything, nudge me or send me vibes.

With one last mental 'thank-you' I extended my arms out to the side. The final part of the ceremony involved expanding a protective sphere from my solar plexus to my immediate surroundings and rotating it rapidly, cleansing the space of any unbalanced energies, then dissipating the sphere, though if I ever had a home of my own I'd be able to then set it on the ground and have it active as protection throughout the day.

I pulled a deep breath in, and was about to formulate the starter sphere when I opened my eyes and found Johann standing right in my space. I let the breath out in a harsh shriek and spluttered. "Wh-wh-wh—"

Johann hugged me and smooched my cheek. "Great job, you did it!"

He squeezed me tight and smooched me again, so I hugged him back and finally got my bearings. "I wasn't done yet,Schatz. I still need to do the final step, but you crossed the barrier circle..."

He'd clearly noticed some things while I did the ritual, but those things didn't include the protective circle the mage wields around themselves while doing the work.

Johann jumped and looked around, though still not releasing me. "Hoppala!Sorry, everyone?"

I huffed, but it turned into an exasperated laugh. Was he apologizing to the gods?

It seemed Johann had no intention of releasing me, so I extended my arms once more and focused. Starting the sphere at my solar plexus, I then expanded it out to fill the little space in the forest that I tended to use. The white sphere sailed right through Johann without issue—though Johann jumped and then sneezed against his shoulder. Just for good measure, to make sure I did this last important step thoroughly, I rotated the sphere a moment longer than usual, then finally let it dissipate.

Only then did I allow myself to embrace my sweet Johann and sink into the hug.

"Hmm," he hummed in pleasure. "I want to learn this."

That caught me off guard. "Really?"

He chuckled, shaking in my arms. "Is it that hard to imagine? You yourself lived at a monastery for five years and learned magic because you knew it would help with your bardic techniques."

I couldn't argue with that. "Fair. The path lies open to you,afteryour trauma work. I can show you what books I have, though the introductory one where you should really start is at the monastery library. I'll write to Marit and pay him to copy it for you."

"Write this ritual down so I can get started in the meantime," he ordered. "I don't have to be able to sing to do it properly, right?"

"No, darling," I said with indulgence, smoothing my palms across his back. "That's just my version; I love singing to the gods."

"I'm glad you do; it was beautiful to witness," he said.

Relishing the quiet moment, we held each other as the sun rose through the forest and blessed the morning.

Chapter Thirteen

Two years later, present day, March 1st, 2449

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