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[Ceinwyn ab'Arawn]

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Traversing the pathways of a person's conscious mind was akin to navigating a maze. There were many thoughts that twisted and stretched along further, and yet many still that would just appear to abruptly end. Usually these latter continued along unseen, hidden in the folds of the being's unconscious. She had witnessed time and again the damage that these hidden thoughts could do to a person if allowed to wreak their havoc. She had disconnected harmful memories and guilty burdens in the past at the request of many who suffered from them. Severing the thread that connected Solanaceae's pain to her conscious mind would be no different.

The fey was obviously in pain. She groaned and stirred fitfully on the bench she lay upon. Ceinwyn knelt beside her, tugging her protective gloves from her hands. Resting a chilled palm on the sprite's forehead, she closed her eyes and forced her will into the girl's tortured mind.

With her trained discipline she could see the various layers and threads of Solanaceae's mind, wrapped and folded upon each other. Not having dealt with a mind of the fey kin before, Ceinwyn was surprised to discover that they were not so different from other races. She tucked that tidbit of knowledge aside and pressed onward. Onward, through the clouds of memory and emotion she crept, familiarizing herself with the mind of Dealthagar's apprentice. She mapped the parcels of Solanaceae's psychology as she went, taking note of various details and other such mental landmarks. Satisfied that she had located that part which connected pain to the woman's mind, she withdrew a distance from it. Before she made any changes to the fey, she would inspect the woman's link with the infant.

One thread of thought, larger than the others, extended out from the fey's mind. Ceinwyn forced her will still further, pushing it like a beaten slave along that path to the infant's mind. The young priestess' intellect was one of relieving simplicity. The inner machinations and schemings she would no doubt gain as an adult were not yet formed. There were no vast layers of memory to plumb. It did not take long to locate that part of her which acknowledged pain and discomfort. One small yet strong command to the infant's conscious mind to simply ignore any activity from this area would suffice. Once done, she noted that the child now rested in relief. She withdrew, content with her work, from the young one's mind and back along the path to the fey. Solanaceae's own mind would not be so simple.

Years of painful memories and the rejection of her by her own kin had helped to create a strong will within this woman. It would take more than a simple command, and Solanaceae's own gift of foresight might accidentally happen across such an obstacle and tear it away, unknowingly. Such an act would instantly restore all sensation of pain to the woman, the effect of which would seem magnified immensely after going without it for a while. Such would happen anyway later when the barrier was removed, but at least they would be prepared for it.

A barrier would need to be constructed to reinforce the command she gave to Solanaceae's mind. Ceinwyn approached the task like a weaver. She pulled threads of memory from other parts of the sprite's mind and knitted them together in a mesh around the woman's pain. If she somehow circumvented the dominant command to ignore the affliction, her consciousness would encounter this blanket and be drawn down any of the myriad threads to another memory and away from it. Solanaceae's conscious mind would be sidetracked and the command would remain, refreshed once more in her unconsciousness.

At last, she withdrew from Solanaceae's mind. It had been a long time since she had pushed her discipline in this way, and it showed in her own exhaustion. Before she left to replenish her energy, however, she would bestow one final gift upon the supine woman. With one hand on her forehead she imposed peaceful rest and dreams, and with her other hand, she allowed a soft precipitation to fall upon the nature-bound woman. After several moments of this "watering", she finally sat back against a nearby table.

"Her condition will have to be monitored much more closely than before. She won't know when she is in pain and hence will not be able to tell anyone about it. Regard..."

Ceinwyn took a dagger and drew the sharp tip across the flesh of Solanaceae's palm to illustrate her example. A fine bead of the fey's unusual blood began to well from the wound, but the woman simply lay there without reaction. She drew her thumb over the wound, sealing it.

"Likewise, the infant is now in the same position. If she is harmed, neither of them will register the pain. You must have her watched extra carefully to be sure she does not fall unconscious."

She stood, ravenous. It had been a long time since she had used her gifts to such extent and she realized with a groan that perhaps she shouldn't have been skipping meals. As she left to find her dinner her mind was heavy with the current state of affairs.

The situation with these drow politics was becoming increasingly annoying and now one of their own suffered from it. She knew why she personally would aid the matron, but she wondered what the Order itself stood to gain from it. If they lost Solanaceae to this feud, she was sure that more than one drow house would suffer for their involvement. Would the Lich Lord be forgiving? She didn't have the answer to that one, anymore.