I scanned the crowd. All the Mystics held their attention firmly on their High Priestess, their trust fully embedded in her.
“Not only does it cleanse us, it revitalizes us, and clears the way for us to reach spiritual enlightenment. Reaching spiritual enlightenment allows the Angels to see us worthy of their gifts, where we can obtain direct connections to them, such as the gifts of foresight, empathy, healing, and so much more. But, as we are constantly reminded in our daily lives, we must protect our peace. We must maintain our energetic purity and keep an untarnished link to our intuitions. The New Moon always provides unique opportunities for us to do so, thereby enhancing our spiritual growth and strengthening the gifts and power that we must not abuse. Unless, of course, you wish to be spurned by our Angelic creators, and forever live in darkness as our Tempest cousins do.”
Talitha let that last line settle, and I raised an eyebrow, neverhaving connected the dots between the Tempests and Mystics before. How had I missed that?
“We have two guests among us this evening from Terraguard, as I’m sure you all have noticed. We are honored to have them because they are the remnants of the Celestial race. When Celanea cast out our close allies, she cursed them to live among mortals as two different species with only half of their natures. Over time, these two races forgot their origins and sporadically waged wars against each other over the centuries until, most recently, power and greed corrupted one of their leaders, causing him to ally with Celanea herself. Having to flee the tyranny, they are now here with us. Their presence brings us hope that we are on the path to restoring the Celestial race and purging the consuming darkness from Arcadia. The true Celestial Queen is alive, and with her, we stand a chance at uniting with our closest allies again.”
Murmurs began to break out among the Mystics around us. Some stole glances at Scarlett and me, and I felt heat rise up my neck at the attention.
Scarlett leaned over to me. “Did you know about all of this?”
I shook my head.“Some, but not all.”
“Tonight is the beginning of the end for Celanea’s reign,” Talitha continued. “We Mystics cannot fight her and her dark disciples alone. We were never meant to, for we were created from the purest souls of the original humans in Arcadia to be given gifts by the gods. These humans were deemed worthy by the gods and Angels to harness their gifts in order to aid the Celestials in their mission to bring balance to the realm that was controlled by dark magic at the time. It’s been far too long since we had our Covenant Pairs. We need our other halves now more than ever, and I believe that time is coming soon.”
Talitha cleared her throat, stepping up to the bowls sitting on the table before her, and glanced up at the sky. “It is time. High Priestess of Trancers, Leonara,” she said. “If you will, please guide us in our New Moon Ritual, to help us usher in this new era of hope in Arcadia.”With a smile and a dip of her chin, she stepped back to make room for Leonara to take her place.
Scarlett leaned over to me again. “What’s a Trancer?”
I shook my head with a shrug, having no idea myself.
Leonara took her place on the stage, pulling her dark hair off her shoulders to fall against her back. Her round eyes gave her the look of someone who didn’t miss much of anything going on around her. She stood still, her arms by her sides and her chin held high, her presence commanding a calm stillness.
“Greetings. If everyone will retrieve your ritual stones and place them before you, we can begin.” The rustling of everyone following her instructions had me exchanging an anxious glance with Scarlett for what would happen next.
All at once, the multitude of stones and crystals in front of the Mystics rose into the air, levitating a few feet from the ground.
Leonara began speaking in a foreign language, reciting what I believed to be an incantation, based on its repetition. The stones and crystals began to glow, emanating various colors across the Solace Grotto, casting an ethereal, rippling light off the waterfall.
The incantation continued, the rest of the Mystics joining in, their hands propped on their knees, palms facing upward. Without warning, their stones all beamed brighter, shooting a stream of colorful light through the opening of the Grotto.
The energy that hummed following the light show vibrated my bones. It was similar, but more powerful than the strong energy I’d felt in Nell’s office earlier that day.
Scarlett startled beside me, whispering, “Do you feel that?”
“I believe it’s the energy they're harnessing from the new moon. Breathe deep and try to clear your mind.”I wondered if it would have the same effect as when I was learning to open a telepathic link.
As I focused on my breaths and cleared my mind, I felt the energy absorb into my aura. As if someone had rinsed away the heaviness on my chest with cool water, tears flooded my eyes without control. Relief. As the energy flowed through my body, I feltmyself grow lighter and lighter, purging the bleak emotions that had been weighing me down for so long.
When I opened my eyes, I glanced beside me. Scarlett leaned back on her hands, tilting her head back and inhaling deeply, a soft grin peeking on the edges of her face. We didn’t even have our stones or crystals—the incredible feeling was just from riding the wave of the energy in the cave. After several moments, the energy remained, but the Mystics surrounding us began to murmur among themselves as they finished their cleansing. One by one, they began to rise to their feet, smiling and linking their arms with one another.
Talitha returned to the front stage. “Now, let’s celebrate! Food and elixirs are present. Happy New Moon! Enjoy!”
Scarlett and I stood up and glanced around as the Solace Grotto came to life with the Mystics.
Talitha rushed over to us, grinning widely. “I’m so happy to see that you two made it! What did you think?”
“That was…” Scarlett began. “Wow. That was powerful.”
Talitha dipped her head. “Yes. It’s one of our favorite rituals here. Now, it’s time to have fun. Let’s introduce you to some people, shall we?” Talitha didn’t wait for our response and made her way back to her previous spot on the stone stage. Scarlett and I followed, not seeing the harm in it.
Leonara stood there, seeming even more perceptive up close. “Leonara,” Talitha said. “I’d like you to meet Scarlett and Cotton, Kinetics from Terraguard.”
Leonara offered a smile, not overly friendly but not cold either. She just seemed to be someone who remained in absolute control of her thoughts and emotions at all times. “Pleasure to meet the pair of you,” she greeted, bowing slightly with respect. “It’s an honor.”
“Thank you for welcoming us into your home and practices. You have a beautiful thing going on here,” Scarlett said to the pair of women.
“Truly, we’re grateful because your presence here means thebarriers separating Celestials from Mystics have been broken, which can only mean positive transformation from here,” Leonara said.
