The Song of Sight
Ardyn commanded a quiet calm around herself, ensuring that it was surrounded by a thick band of chaos. Her body sat as if it were frozen in time. Her hair laid on her shoulders, her eyes calmly shut – every aspect of her now statuesque.
Both Elsa and Atina stood vigil over her physical form, their faces a mix of anticipation and concern.
Atina stood like a statue of obsidian, her eyes fixed on the emerald cocoon Elsa had woven. She could feel the vibration of the realm through the soles of her feet—a jagged, hungry frequency. The magic of Planar was curious, unsure, angry, excited, and much more all at once as it moved around the cocoon seemingly wanting to get to Ardyn.
Elsa watched on in great interest. 'Is Planar trying to re-access Sidus Serpens - seeing Ardyn as a conduit for this?'
'Teacher, was she thrown from the folds again?' Atina's soul voice whispered through Elsa's massive soul sea. She could feel shifts within Ardyn due to their soul tether, but she could not clearly see her Mistress' soul condition – the chaos around her was too complete.
Elsa's massive tortoise head swung low as she let out a low, tectonic rumble. 'Yes. This is not an easy trial. Be prepared – the next one will be even more difficult.' Her massive head swung back toward Planar and the magical gale raging around them. 'Varric and I will not be able to help her. She will only have you.' She let loose another massive sigh – the plateau trembled beneath their feet.
'You have been my student for a long time Atina – I know that Viper Clan of yours holds you back, but you are Ardyn's chosen protector and companion. You have to get stronger.'
Atina gave a firm nod, as if she was taking on a challenge. Her body went rigid when Ardyn's body shimmered – as if it were about to disappear. Elsa hummed and pushed magic into the cocoon, which began to grow and bloom. It shot up upwards and formed a large egg shape around Ardyn that had a twisting funnel rising up into the grey Planar sky.
Inside the egg of flowering vines, Ardyn's body stopped shimmering but her fingers had begun to glow with a sharp, crystalline light. It wasn't the soft lilac of her soul; it was a harsh, blinding white that seemed to be eating away at her skin. Her physical form was becoming "transparent," as if she were being erased from existence. Elsa poured more nature magic into the cocoon, the flowers blooming and dying in seconds as they sacrificed their life force to keep Ardyn anchored to Planar.
Inside the fold, Ardyn was oblivious to her fading body. Her mind and soul were focused – once again they were operating as one. The folds moved before her – shimmering ley lines of power dissecting Planar. The longer she was here, the more she understood, and the clearer things became.
She controlled her breathing and took a step forward.
She found herself in a corridor of shifting geometries – led here by her soul - where the walls seemed made of liquid glass. The rainbow ring was there, shimmering. She paused and swallowed hard, then moved toward it. The ring pulsed and the rainbow lights flashed brightly across her soul. Then – as if it took a step back – it was out of reach.
Again she quieted her being and again she moved toward the rainbow ring of light. Every time Ardyn moved her mind toward it, the light had a new way to escape her reach. She felt a surge of frustration—not the hot rage of war, but a cold, desperate need to know. Again she calmed herself – trying to understand, trying to learn, trying to know anything new before she was forced back again.
Deep within her soul she felt a deep rumble. Over her raging soul sea her soul-hibiscus bloomed. It rose high into her soul plain and petal after petal folded open. With each opening petal one of her soul songs sang through. Ardyn became renewed with each song. She stood in the folds of Planar understanding more and more.
Until there was a resonance that her being had never known before. A new frequency began to hum within her. It wasn't a melody of power; it was a song of pure perception. The [Song of Sight] unfurled, and suddenly, the "static" of Planar decoded itself. The light froze – no longer able to run and hide from her - she saw it and understood it for what it was: the Life Turn—the mechanism that dictated the flow of existence.
Her mind and soul both focused as one and she resonated with the turn of the third portion of the Life Way. She felt her soul sea calm as it changed the direction of its deep currents, as quickly and quietly as one calming breath to the next.
Empowered, she reached out, desperate to claim it – a little too desperate. Because her intent was too sharp. She grabbed at the Turn - greed and triumph singing in her heart. The artifact reacted like a startled bird. In a flash of blinding rainbow light, it blinked out of range. The fold convulsed. Ardyn felt a violent shove against her spirit.
A distant hollow scream filled the space – Ardyn was only distantly aware that it was her own voice. Her mind and soul seemed to be pushed through a sieve to be piled back into one being back at the entrance to the folds.
Planar's voice was sympathetic when it spoke. The myriad of voices rained down on her like a hard freezing winter rain.
'Your arrogance outdid you, and got you pushed out. Be careful little one – too many ejections and you will not have a body to return to.'