Page 42 of Of Serpents and Ruins
STELLA
Kine pushed the door open and gestured to the stone staircase that wound down into the glowing blue light.
The chamber he led me into was cool and quiet, seemingly undisturbed by the tremors earlier. Instead of a floor of stone though, it was sand. The air smelled like stone and…electricity maybe? I wasn't sure. My bare feet sank into the pale-grey sand, fine as the white sand in Siesta Beach. It was a sharp contrast to the hard stone walls surrounding us.
I'd been here before. My nerves prickled with anticipation, excitement curling in my belly.
Blue light flowed from the swirling river that curled across the back third of the chamber. It flowed swiftly, the azure glow casting dancing shadows across the sandy floor that did not seem to be connected or attached to anything. The water flowed out through a dark, narrow chamber, splashing and gurgling.
A large well stood in the back corner, similar to the one in the back of the main room on the first floor at the back. This one had a large wooden lid fitted over it. An ethereal azure glow leaked out along the seam, and thick waxy vines grew along the back of the well and up the wall. They crept up the interlocking stonewall into the vent. Perhaps they were connected somehow? This was the well Auntie Runa said had to stay shut. Perhaps all of them had to.
"Now, I know a lot has happened, and I should have asked this before we went down all those stairs, but are you sure you want to start now?" Kine asked. "We could get some rest and start tomorrow morning."
He meant that offer, though he obviously felt we should start now, and I agreed. We didn't have time to waste. That certainty hardened in my gut.
"We can get started. Let's get as far as we can tonight."
"All right," he said, cracking his knuckles. "We're going to do a little bit of double work here. This is the Scrying Chamber. It's used for training, and the sand is good for strengthening the shifting and softening falls. We'll only be able to do the basics because of the wards and spells Auntie Runa's set up, but it’ll get you back into a groove."
He strode over to the stone wall and removed one of the blocks. It slid out like a puzzle piece. He removed a thick silver ring from the box. It was unadorned, but light seemed to emanate from it for a moment.
"You put this on your fourth finger on your left hand," he said.
As he dropped it into my palm, a surge of energy coursed up my arm. A tang of pain and discomfort as well as excitement too. I slid the cold metal onto my finger, shivering. There was something familiar stirring in my veins and pulsing in my fingertips.
He continued, "Now, all you do is focus on what you want to become. In this case, this is a training ring. It won't allow you to assume a full form, but it will let you start flexing. Your first task is to become a rectangle."
"A rectangle?" My eyebrow arched as I studied the ring. "You just want me to turn into a rectangle?"
His mouth quirked up. "A rectangular prism, to be more precise. You'll need volume. We’re going to do shapes just until you get the feel of shifting energy again. Full-form shifting is excruciating if you don't do it properly. Even just shifting a portion of yourself. So when you're strong again in the basics, it'll be easier. Maybe it'll even ground your memories and make the more complex forms effortless. Sort of like a bridge with a good foundation. It may help if you close your eyes."
Drawing in a deep breath, I closed my eyes, envisioned a silver rectangle, clenched my hand into a fist, and—
Oh!
My body tore apart and came back together, jagged shards of ice and fire cutting through my veins. My field of vision collapsed entirely, but I wasn't blind, just aware in a different way. The edges of my consciousness and my rectangular form were the most sensitive, the temperatures playing along them with uncanny nuance. More to the center was only a weight and dullness. Sound ceased to exist, but vibrations spoke about the world around me.
It was hard to put into words, but some of it was familiar somehow.
The form fell away, and I staggered to my feet, gasping. "I was a rectangle!"
Kine chuckled. His head dipped forward as he nodded. "Yes, you were. You up for more?"
"Yes!"
Maybe it was stupid, and it certainly did sting, but turning into shapes was surprisingly entertaining. Laughing, I clenched my fist once more and became a rectangle.
Giddiness was not the emotion I had expected to experience, but there was something almost fun, childlike, and comfortingin shifting. It was almost like play. It tapped into something old and ingrained within me, something that reveled in being let out.
Kine encouraged me with each shift, urging me then to become different shapes. I could only hold each for a few seconds, sometimes ten, if I was particularly focused.
But I did it.
Again and again.
Each shape had its own sensation and…voice? Was that it?
Voice didn't fully encapsulate the sensation, but each one had something about it. Triangles? Itchy. Rectangles? Curious. Circles? Hilarious and sometimes terrifying if I started rolling away.
