Unwanted Presence

“By fire, water, earth, wind, and the fifth; I, Celestra Livannya, charge these stones with my living self, nay, my very essence.” She stood in the center of the circle and twirled her staff, spinning her body so that the twist at the end of the staff and her eyes aligned with each of the five stones. Sweat ran down her white body. 

“And by the Four Old Towers. In the northeast, Cadrothium. In the northwest, Elocia. In the southeast, Nemurint. In the southwest, Lianeer.” Ghostly blue flames materialized, hovering in the dark, night air as Celestra gestured to each of the invisible astral points. That was good. That meant it was working. If no ghostly lights appeared, it meant the ritual was a dud. 

She panted and knelt down, looking over at Gaib, her pet skeleton, who was standing next to an old willow tree and waiting. She smiled. His emotional support was essential to her, even though she knew he was not alive, had no mind and no emotions. 

She stepped back between Cadrothium and Elocia, a careful, practiced dance-step, and she pulled the black silk cloth from around her neck, leaving her slender body nearly bare, but for the frayed skirt and the chest-wrap, along with the twisted bone tiara she wore to help her focus on distant planes of the dead. 

She bowed her head and let the silk cloth drop to the center of her ritual site. It was a conjuring strip, used to focus the energy of a distant being.

It’s been a long time since I’ve endeavored to speak with the soul of a dead person. It wasn’t a skill she was very adept at, but her research into basic alchemical forms of immortality had all been dead ends lately, and she needed to try a new avenue. 

She had been poring over old journal entries last week when she had a thought, “Perhaps I’m going about this the wrong way. If I want to subvert mortality, maybe I need to do it from the inside. I need to find a partner within that cursed cage and help them escape. If there’s a door, maybe we can hold it open.” 

This was her attempt to do so. For that purpose, she had studied up on rituals, gathered at least three hundred gold tails worth of components, and secretly exhumed the bones of one Olga Bjornlundh, a young woman who had been murdered by a knife-goblin just two years prior. None of it struck Celestra as even the least bit ghoulish. She was a necromancer by trade, and these elements were common to her daily life. Death was her partner, even if he was also her greatest enemy.

She made the final salt circle around the silk strip, knelt down, made her hand gestures and said her incantation; a low mutter at first, then a sing-song moan, and finally a howl that took her whole chest. The spectral blue flames levitating over the four towers flared up, then faded. For a moment, there was darkness, and then, something like a thin line of smoke streamed up from the center of her circle. It was hard to see at first, but Celestra saw well in the dark, and soon the thread of smoke drew a shape; the misty form of a young woman with a long neck and long curls of hair. 

“Wh o? W Ho calls to-me? Who RaISes a RacKET in THe VaLLeY of Dark? WhO CaLLs UPoN Me FROM thE L AnDs Below?” It was like the sound of crackling flames, hardly distinguishable as a voice at first, but slowly Celestra interpreted it. Her brain blocked out every other source of noise and focused on the crackling, until it was like an ordinary voice to her.

“It is I! Celestra Livannya, called The Vulture, who calls upon-”

“WHO cALlS uPON mE fRoM the Lands Below!” The spirit shrieked. 

Vulture frowned. She didn’t have to interrupt me. “It is I, Vulture, the necromancer who calls upon you, Olga!”

“How did you get that name?” the specter demanded, “What does it mean to you, oh mortal?”

“I hold thy bones, that I might call upon thee and beseech of thee.” said Celestra, closing her eyes and focusing her energy.

The spirit made a sound like air being expelled from a sealed wine barrel and asked, “What is it you want?”

“Spirit of Olga Bjornlundh, I call upon you that I might obtain knowledge of the forbidden lands beyond The Veil. I want to know about the misty fields you now call your home, about the dark caverns below and the hidden treasure.”

The spirit sighed again, “Why are you bothering me?”

Celestra looked to the small ram she had tied to a the tree beside her skeleton, “Spirit, I offer you–”
“No. I do not wish for offerings. Why are you bothering me?”

Celestra opened her eyes and looked at the apparition. She had her hands on her smokey hips, and was tapping her foot restlessly.

“I um . . .” Celestra bit her lip, “I seek knowledge of immortal vistas of-”

“And why are you asking me about it?” the spirit demanded.

“I mean . . . isn’t it obvious?” Celestra didn’t want to upset the spirit if she could help it, “It is because you are among the dead.”

“Why does that matter? I don’t know you, and you don’t know me.”

“Well, I can offer you energy . . . or like . . . a sacrifice.”

“Why would I care about that? I’m in the Serene Valley. Heaven. Why would you call me back to this ugly, dirty place?”

“Well, I-”
“I can eat solid light, and there is endless wine. Why would I need the guts of a ram? Or your stupid energy?”

Celestra frowned.

“I’m going to go back now.” said the spirit, “I have to attend a party with Bal’Zomest, Branuuc, and Auril. I could probably use my power to curse you or haunt you or something, but why would I bother?”

Celestra found herself tongue-tied. 

The spirit began to dissipate. 

“Wait! Are there any doors? Any gateways? Any passages out?”

For the first time, Celestra saw the ghost’s eyes, and they were rolling. 

“I don’t care.” said Olga, “And neither should you.”

With a puff of smoke, the spirit vanished. 

The energy in the air ceased surging. 

Celestra dropped her forehead to the ground, frustrated and exhausted.

What a waste of time. I should have-

Suddenly, the spectral lights ignited again and the spirit reappeared! Celestra gazed up at it in wonder. It was glowing with holy, celestial light. Olga was shining like a gem that was refracting the light of the very sun.

“And put some clothes on!” said Olga, in a voice like thunder, “Weirdo.”

Then she vanished again.