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[Ceinwyn ab'Arawn]

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Tonight was a night Ceinwyn ab'Arawn had been waiting for for years. Her split mind would finally be healed, the curse removed from her body. The dark gifts that had come with the curse would be missed, but she wanted the full use of a reliable mind, and not the constant inner warring she had dealt with for so long.

If this worked, Ceinwyn knew she would reward Merrique greatly. The gypsy had come to Umbra by force, when Ceinwyn had tasked Zeth to seek out a cure for her "condition". Now, Ceinwyn realized that he had indeed found the cure she had sent him to find. Ceinwyn had seen promise in the girl's mind early on, which was one of the reasons Merrique had been given freedom of a sort, and not been made a slave of the MelGair family. That very first look of gratitude in the young gypsy's eyes had taken hold of a small part of Ceinwyn. A glimpse of herself, when she was younger, perhaps. Who knew. The fact that it had taken hold remained. Merrique had continued practising her gypsy magics as she served Umbra, tending the bar in the tavern.

Now, the actions of long ago came to full fruition. Ceinwyn had taken the ancient gypsy's book, which for so long Merrique had been unable to read. She gazed down at the gypsy woman in all seriousness.

"You can read this now, can't you?"

Merrique had answered in the positive, and Ceinwyn's convictions had been reaffirmed. This woman would be able to perform the ritual. The gypsy faced uncertain death, for the ritual called for a willing sacrifice, and she had been so trusting that Ceinwyn would have her brought back from the Veil.

Now they gathered in the garden on the roof of the Sepulcher. Merrique took a place in the center of the abbatoir. She lifted the lantern in her hand and slowly turned toward each cardinal point of the compass, starting with the North. She called out in the unfamiliar tongue of the gypsies.

"Umore del dal nord, sud, est, e ovest! Attenzione tuo servo! Lasciare me possesso questo maledizione in il indistinto, e guarire mio madre!"



Then Merrique switched to speaking in common.

"I leave this light, spirits of the elements. Please let it guide me back beyond the Veil."

She placed the lantern on the ground at the southern point and lifted her arms to the sky, closing her eyes. Merci drew in a sharp breath.

"Hear your servant, Merrique! I come to you in supllication, and beg you to heal Ceinwyn."

Merci shifted her eyes to watch Ceinwyn closely, in anticipation, as Merrique drew a dagger from the sash of her blue robe and held it up to the sky, its blade gleaming. Ceinwyn's gleaming eyes drank in the sight before her with relish. Merrique shouted to the sky.

"Hear your servant!"

With the dagger held high against the sky, Merrique gazed at Ceinwyn. Merci licked her lips as she watched. Ceinwyn met Merrique's gaze, looking directly into her eyes. Merrique held out her scarred left hand, and quickly drew the dagger's sharp edge over the flesh of her palm. Merci began to slowly lift her arms, planting her feet firmly on the ground, as Merrique lifted her voice, once more.

"I give you, my gods and guiding spirits, my unafflicted blood!"

She began to shake fat drops of her blood onto each point of the compass. Merci turned her open-palmed arms toward Ceinwyn, in preparation for the expected outwash of cold. Similarly, Ceinwyn sought to grasp an early control of the cold that would be released. Her skin turned blue as she concentrated on the force within her. Korin stared at the now blue Matriarch, while Merci casted a cold healing light at Merrique, which engulfed her quickly, healing her wound.

Merrique shouted into the dark night sky.

"Give to me the curse, so that I may take it to the place it belongs!"

Merci returned her attention back to Ceinwyn as Ceinwyn tilted her head back.

"Give to me this affliction and take it from the servant of Darkness, Ceinwyn! Hear me, Merrique!"



Merrique let the dagger fall to the ground at her feet and murmurred more words to the air.

"Possesso me in il indistinto! Know this is done with love and of my free will!"

Merrique took the dagger and plunged it into her chest, piercing her heart as she collapsed in the center of the abbatoir.

Merci and Korin raised their arms to control the sudden explosion of pure cold energy that came washing out from Ceinwyn in waves. Her new form was not immediately able to withhold all of the cold power she had stored inside her old vampiric being. While Korin worked to contain the cold, his mother took a moment to begin healing the fallen gypsy. Once restored, she returned to her task, as Merrique sat in the center of the circle,looking dazed. A beam of the cold that Merci aimed at Korin missed and headed towards the lich lord, Barl who guided it. Korin and his mother, Matriarch Merci, kept drawing in the cold as it was released from Ceinwyn, to prevent it from freezing solid everything in the area of the Sepulcher.

At last, Merci was overflowing with pure cold energy, becoming a bright blue, herself, and her hand rose and shout out a bit out of control, freezing whatever lay in the path of her force. Barl kept a watchful eye on Merci, as Ceinwyn fell to the ground, which had been coated in a thick sheet of ice.

Merci and Merrique simultaneously cried out, "No!"

As the outpouring of cold force continued from Ceinwyn, Merci rushed forward, and Barl hurriedly stepped closer, throwing his free hand into her beam of icy magic. Merrique scrambled toward, Ceinwyn as well, while Merci shouted to Korin.

"Korin, keep sucking the cold! Pull it away from Barl!"

Barl's hand and arm appeared frost bitten and covered in tiny ice particles. Korin grabbed the lich lord's arm and drew the cold out of him. His frozen and now brittle sleeve broke apart, revealing blackened skin.

Merci placed a hand on Ceinwyn to help pull the excess cold away from her. She knelt, pulling Ceinwyn's head onto her lap. Merrique watched the two matriarchs, and Ceinwyn spoke, weakly.

"Is.. she back from.. the veil?"

Merci nodded, "Yes."

"Merci, is the hall intact?" Ceinwyn asked, looking around, slowly.

Merci responded, "Yes, everything's frozen, but intact."

Merrique looked around at each person, and then spoke quietly, "You need privacy now. Your family." She stood and left without another word.

Barl commented, "So long as we aren't invaded this eve..."

Merci looked at Barl, greatly concerned.

Ceinwyn spoke, "Merci... I'm hungry."

Merci asked, "For what?"



Korin began to conjur up food, handing graps to Ceinwyn, who fed greedily, juice running down her chin. She inquired after Merrique's disappearance. Merci informed her that the gypsy had lefy rather quickly, before Merci could speak to her. Ceinwyn nodded.

"So delicious.. I haven't had food in 15 years. More, I must have more..."

As the lich lord Barl smirked at this concept, more food was created and set on the ground, until finally, Korin handed the matriarch a cheesecake.

"I knew you would come through, my son," Merci joked.

As Ceinwyn ate handfuls of the long missed stuff, Merci quipped.


Merci, seeing that Ceinwyn would recover quickly, took a running leap, launching herself from the roof of the Sepulcher. She aimed all of the stored cold energy into the sky. As Merci headed back into the Sepulcher, she noticed that it had begun to snow.