Winterbound, Part 23 - The Anchor

 They landed on a small courtyard. Clearly long since used, it was overgrown with weeds, long blades of grass sticking out from between the large stones paving the ground. Rubble and broken stubs of ancient pillars followed on both sides what had once been a path, leading through the yard. The path led to the temple wall and, presumably, to a door, hidden beneath layers upon layers of kudzu. Almost the entire temple was covered in kudzu.

“We go in, I assume?” Tiu said, sliding off Kaneq’s back.

“Can we go in?” asked Madiza as they made their way down the path and to the wall. She brushed a few vines aside, revealing several more. “Is there a door underneath this mess?”

“There is,” Anaya said. She could feel it, or perhaps she could feel Kaneq feeling it. Either way, this place had immense energy. It seeped out through the crack under the door. It made her spine tingle.

“Don’t worry, I got this,” said Kimo, stepping up and cracking his knuckles. “I am an expert kudzu wrangler.”

The three girls exchanged looks and settled in to watch the show. Kimo cleared his throat. He raised his hands. He started a low hum as he scrunched up his face in concentration. Anaya could see his hands shaking slightly.

“HA!” he shouted and began waving his arms all around.

Nothing happened.

“What is he doing?” Madiza whispered with a sly grin.

“Silence in the peanut gallery!” Kimo shouted and she jumped a little, pressing a finger to her lips, perhaps more from habit than anything else. She grimaced and put her finger down, the tips of her ears red. Anaya thought it was hilarious.

Kimo continued to wave his hands around randomly. Except no, as Anaya looked over again, she noticed that the movements weren’t random at all. Every move was in fact very deliberate, although she had never seen anyone do anything like this. What was he trying to accomplish?

Just then the kudzu vines started to vibrate. It was like they were swaying in the wind, except it wasn’t windy and they were all moving in different directions. Before their eyes the vines twisted around, weaving themselves into two neat braids on either side of the big stone door that revealed itself from under them.

Kimo was breathing hard as he finally lowered his arms, their path cleared up. He turned and gave them a thumbs up, a big grin on his face. “I told you,” he panted. “I’m an expert kudzu wrangler.”

“That was… definitely impressive,” Tiu admitted, running a hand through her hair. “Where have you learned this level of matter manipulation?”

“Oh, I’ve taught myself!” he said cheerily. Anaya’s mouth fell open.

“No way!” she exclaimed.

“What, like it’s hard?” he said. “Kudzus are actually very cooperative once you get to know them a little.”

“Why would you want to get to know kudzu?” Madiza scoffed, crossing her arms. “They’re nothing but a hassle! They take over the entire yard and then you have to spend two full weeks weeding everything!”

“That’s why you need to get to know them!” Kimo said with a disappointed shake of his head. “If you just talk to them, you won’t even need to—”

“Can we maybe focus here?” Anaya interrupted, before the conversation got too out of hand. “Kimo’s skills are surprising but very impressive. But we should probably go inside now.”

“Oh,” said Kimo.

“Of course,” said Madiza. They gave each other another glare.

Anaya ignored them and approached the wall. She pressed a hand against the stone. It was cool under her fingers, but there was an undercurrent of energy that sent pulses of warmth rippling through her whole body. She felt a similar echo of power from Kaneq as she prowled behind them. She took a deep breath and pushed.

The door opened with surprising ease. Anaya didn’t even have to put her body into it. It did make a terrible racket though as the big stone slab scraped along the floor. It was dark inside, and dusty. The door opened up to a mostly empty hall, at least as far as Anaya could see. There were more pillars inside, these ones more intact than the ones outside. Mounted on each pillar was a sconce with an unlit torch.

“Oh, there’s a lot of power here,” said Tiu behind her. They all hovered by the door, hesitant to enter the structure. “Like a lot a lot.”

“Which is why I chose this location,” said Kaneq.

Tiu grabbed a hold of Anaya’s sleeve. Madiza made a weird, strangled noise. Kimo yelped.

Anaya had a few seconds to wonder what had gotten into everyone, before Kaneq walked past them. Not the Kaneq she knew, Kaneq the dragon, but Kaneq the human. As Anaya’s surprise reached her through their bond, Kaneq turned, her pale eyes flashing with amusement.

“I am a master of matter manipulation, and this form is necessary for the ritual we’re about to perform,” she explained. “What do you think?” she asked, not waiting for an answer as she cocked her head up, showing off her long, pale neck, before turning to lead them on with a swish of her long white hair.

Anaya blinked once, twice, before hurrying after her. Kaneq in her human form was tall, probably a head taller than the tallest man Anaya had ever faced. Her limbs were long and thin, her skin somehow drawn over her bones in a way that was both slightly unnerving and strangely beautiful. She was dressed in a white, almost ethereal looking attire – a dress, if Anaya had to ascribe it a common name.

Kaneq lead her companions, shocked into silence, through the temple. Beyond the entrance, the structure was no more overgrown than your average mountain cave, the lack of sunlight forbidding the growth of any plant. They followed her through the long corridor, Kaneq lighting the torches along the way with her magic. Although she was an ice dragon, she could handle simple fire spells without problems.

Finally, they arrived in a large hall with curved staircases framing it by the sides, leading up to an overlooking balcony. In the middle of the hall, at the centre of the open floor was a carved circle, old markings running along its border.

Right before they reached the circle, Kaneq stopped. “This is where we must perform the ritual,” she said. Although human in appearance, her words still rang strangely powerful in Anaya’s ears. But at least like this, everyone could understand what she had to say without Anaya’s translations. “These temples, now long forgotten and abandoned, used to be where we taught you humans our magic. In the anchoring rite, the soul stone must be placed at the circle of the ring, while we,” she fixed her icy gaze on Anaya, “take our places on each side.”

Anaya nodded, reaching for the stone now hung around her neck, as she approached the circle and placed the necklace in its designated place.

“You, who have come to lend your strength to Anaya during the ritual,” Kaneq continued, now facing Tiu, Madiza and Kimo, “must take your place behind the anchor, placing you palm upon her back. Through your connection, your energy shall lend to our bond, and for that I am grateful.”

She bowed her head to the three, who appeared quite baffled by the gesture. They all muttered their responses, Kimo bowing straight back at Kaneq. Anaya once again felt her amusement pulse into her own mind.

Kaneq took her place around the circle. She sat down, folding her long legs in a way that seemed strangely beautiful and not entirely human. Anaya kneeled down across her, feeling clumsy in the face of Kaneq’s elegance. Kaneq then smiled, the warmth of her expression slightly melting the coolness of her eyes. She offered her hands to Anaya, palms up in the middle of the circle.

“Take my hands and know that by this magic you are bound to me, as an anchor, for as long as you live,” Kaneq spoke, her words vibrating in the hall, reaching its every dusty corner.

Anaya stared ahead at her, at her palms, suddenly nervous. What if she wasn’t ready? What if despite everything, their struggles had been for naught? Maybe it would be better to wait a while longer still, strengthen themselves and—

Right then, she felt two warm hands settle on her back, between her shoulder blades. She felt Tiu’s and Madiza’s presence, strengthening her resolve and calming her nerves. Just a moment later a third, smaller hand joined them on her lower back, sending a burst of energy through her. It just had to be Kimo, who would convince me to do this, Anaya thought, her laughter barely contained.

And then she took hold of Kaneq’s hands.

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Hello everybody, Pede here!!! As Matu has said, the schedule got kinda messed up, but we're still finishing this, with one more part to go. That'll come at some point tomorrow, (or probably the day after bc it will be christmas eve and we have a bunch of stuff to do lol)

This part is a bit different, in the sense that we wrote it together with Oona! I wrote the first half and she wrote the second. That was pretty fun :D

Anyway, I'll leave you with this for now! The final topic is "Dawn", bye now~

Pede out.