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..FANTODS..

(noun) state of extreme anxiety and distress.
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'Oh, the divine mother may the stars be in goodwill.'

Rohana kept repeating the words whenever her eyes rolled towards the wide opened falcon fluttering arms of the carved cavern shrine. When she found none whom she was anticipating, she landed her eyes on the divine mother, who opened her arms holding a flame and half her height, with a vicious vulture perching sceptre, towards the seeker.

With her sombre sunken eyes, she looked at the pristine details adding life and love to a crude white boulder smoked with golden quartz.

The deity had the eyes of a fawn intensified by her crescent trimmed brows. A gentle smile painted her lips as the split tongue of a massive serpent, needled her heavy cheeks. The ebbs of water were coiling her to be latched in her waist by the tightened bends of four serrate fanged reptile. Crumpling leaves and the infantile tendrils with thorns meandered her divine curves above with least of the precious stones and gold embellishing her indefinable charm. Her supposed to be sleeky silver locks were now white and tied high up in two twisted rolls with stars sprinkled on them.

Amidst her showers of solace, Rohana eyes kept loitering at the glazing flame dancing between her brows. It was her solace whenever she was disarrayed. Through her eyes she drank its warmth, but she knew not if it would be enough.

"What happened, Grace? Is there something that I can help with?" Kenna asked as her orange kissed eyes lit up the cedar soaked wicks placed on the hanging lamps to illuminate the dusk pecked place.

"Ah, it's alright, Kenna. I'm just worrying much," Rohana said while scattering some lotus seeds for the purple plumaged ducks quacking with their silver spiralled patterns on their wings as they see her sow their food upon the pond.

"Perhaps a herbal tea and some orchids might be helpful," she asked, but her kindness couldn't delight her even in a bit.

Rohana kept her musings perform her probability tests as interpretations clouded her breath. She was worried about everything she had been witnessing, but she strived to be alive with her work than getting lost in a haze.

Even if she tried her best, one glance of the woman of respect from her head to heel was enough to convey her rioting burdens.

Her dishevelled hair was knotted up in a green piece of cloth to keep them in place and her not so matching dull leaf adorns hummed her unrevealed panics. Her shifting sights from the surroundings to the entrance and then back to the goddess sitting under the gleams of Aetherth's golden sun was bawling her urges.

Kenna noticed them all. She went near her and dropped the crescent bowl scenting the cedar all over the shrine.

"If that shall be it then let's worry together, your grace." She placed her arms on her shoulders and shared her faith.

"I wish things get along well, Kenna. But why are the tutors taking much time? An epoch had been cruised and still, none is here. Not even Azarious. What could be more important?" Rohana poured her worries.

"Grace, breathe some cedar and relax. They would be here by the start of the next candle. It marks the start of official trails, right?"

"Yes, but..."

"No! Seal the words and steal some tea." She grabbed the porcelain cup rimmed with emerald glitters and poured out some hot tea for her.

"Aren't you drinking? Hope you said we will share things."

"As you wish, your grace."

Taking two cups of herbal tea and a smile lighting her eyes to shine like a speck of sun she had set the wooden slab opposite to the entrance for them.

"So if you were to get my vision what would you have interpreted it to be?" Rohana glanced at the opened parchment lying on the boulder set in the heart of the shrine while sipping her tea.

"Hmm. Could be anything. But not the right one." Kenna's words surprised her.

"Why not right?"

"It wouldn't be as simple as gazing sea. If I can read it right then the vision would have chosen me," she said as she chuckled to colour her cheeks.

"Haha! Witty and wise."

"Honoured to have comforted you," she said, raising her cup on air.

"Hail the glories of the mother!"

Between their breezing talks, they failed to realize the arrival of their anticipated tutors.

"Glad to greet you, Sir Azarious and Ms Valerie," she greeted them with a smile while her eyes hunted someone.

"Where is...?"

Before she could ask, they heard a howl of air washing the morsels of dust past their feet, pinning their gazes to the gate. The recent rush of breezes and the rising scent of Calamus and Galbanum made them comprehend him.

"Am I invited here?" A gravelly voice echoed from the tips and blends of the shrine.

"Come in, Sir Laurel."

With Rohana's command, three clanks of metals revealed his slightly hunched trunk donned in purple robes carrying the sigil of triskelion rimmed with geometric florals on protruded his fat flanking belly. After reaching the edges of the shrine, he halted and let his sharp nose snuff while his aquamarine eyes read narrowed in tension, making his thumbs rub his sharply hanging black beard furring his finely chiselled face.

"Strange it is," he declared to earn some odd gawks.

He rolled his thistle ivory palm stick emitting the fumes of the ignited herbs. With twenty strides for him where it should be ten for the others, he neared them.

"But why an emergency meeting for such a case?" Laurel whispered, placing his incense over the wooden ledge beside them.

"As you implied, Sir. Strange. It is." Valerie reminded him.

Laurel tossed his brows and gaped his fleshy lips. Before he could spit his sour words, Rohana streamlined them.

"Thanks for this early arrival. Azarious would have notified you of whatever I had worded him. Now let me express what I have seen. Kenna, can you please serve all of us some tea?"

With a courteous hum, Kenna brisked her services while Rohana gathered little pieces of parchment for all of them to trial their thoughts. When they both were done, they took their seats.

"So, what was the vision?" Laurent pitched his tone high.

"At the stillness of the dark, I saw the orbs of light emerging in the order of the seven. Violets to red. Then they formed a concentric loop. Lat..."

"What is the order of colours there?" Laurel's curiosity peaked voice and the clink of his teacup on the boulder startled her.

"Ah! Purple in the core and scarlet in rims," Rohana replied between her relaxing sighs.

"Oh! Violets to red?"

"Like she said, Sir. It is," Valerie retorted, making him flatten his lips to chew up his choler.

"Yes, Sir. Later it was clouded by blinding black smoke forming a sphere. Then, I noticed the planet of life. Slowly the smoke crept up covering the planet on its whole. From..."

"So you say that it's haunting the planet on the whole and not at that particular area?"

Rohana nodded to Laurel's remarks.

"But what if it's a misguiding attempt? I have heard about those notorious girls from my students. What if it's their trick to escape the assignment?" Rohana was baffled to hear his words.

He raised his head after his last sip and studied the barren expressions from which he could discern that he had done something seriously wrong.

"Why are you guys gaping at me for telling that the tea is good?" His words made Valerie exhale her jibes.

"Sir, are you alright? You said that it could be the trick of the girls for escaping from the assignment." Azarious clarified him.

"Ops! My zero thoughts slipped out and I chewed my actual phrases. Haha! I apologise."

"Zero thoughts, sir?" Kenna asked while collecting his emptied cup.

"Oh, the meanest reason possible for the situation. My cognition is always set to level up the ewws to awes. Isn't it always good to see the things in every aspect?" His loud giggles answered his questions.

"Impressive, Sir Laurel. In that case, we must work something out before the unfortunates rain on us. So here..."

"Why can't we simply call the girls back?" He interrupted Rohana again.

"It is because the girls have already met with the spirit and if we open the portals for them it's likely that the spirits might follow us into this plane," Azarious said while shifting his concerned gazes to Rohana.

"That's quick! How did the spirit look like?" His curiosity waves lit up his aquamarine eyes.

"We apologise, Sir. It is yet to be known." Valerie's quick words infuriated him.

"What is the concern now?" His voice staunched more of rotten fats.

"To protect before the unfortunates..."

"Burn the fate of the unseen unfortunates." He intruded on Valerie's words of hidden sarcasm.

"Don't you think it's too much to be a concern when we have people who witnessed the ghost? But here we are playing predict the hidden game to try our lucks on the imperceptible vision. Please tell me why should I not be annoyed?"

His quick words of prick tricked them. Yet, Rohana managed to pull up the knots.

"Sir, relax your breaths. We are here to speak with them. It's better if we try to seek it together. Azarious have already arranged for that. We will begin our talks with them in a while..."

"Through porting?"

"Not!" Everyone declined him in unison.

"Then relic communication? Yes, it should be it. Who would call the unknowns for a free feast?"

"Feast? What feast?" Valerie asked as she pushed her slipping bold rimmed spectacles, letting some pink-green strands sneak out to the sides.

"Ugh! That was meant to be a joke. Forget it. Now, what's the next move? We will communicate with them or should we speak anything more between us?"

"Azarious, did you get the relic to speak with them?" Rohana asked.

He nodded his head and took out something from his pleated pouch. Within flicks, he placed the crystal mirror on his tripod stand and dusted the teal powders around them.

"Shall we begin?" He asked one last time.

"We must at any cost," Laurel said and everyone conceded to it.

With their approval, Azarious curtained his lids to concentrate on the elements of the relic. He moved his hands in an oblique slash to disassemble the lattices. He pictured his beloved and their sea fenced home on his mind.

He then pushed an electric glow of light from his thumbs, making the teal powders emit a glittering shine enough to challenge the charm of the divine woman who was observing them in silence.

Hope it is enjoyable. Now here are some points to muse.

.Ø. What would happen with the riddles placed in front of them? Will they crack it or misinterpret things?

.Ø. What picture did Laurent paint on your mind? Any epithets for him?

Keep the comments flowing! They are my secret energy.

Until then,
🦋..Yaris..🦋