Scrying, and the Book
The booming laughter filled the halls of the Pantheon Hill and poured over the valleys around it. Winter's voice could carry, and all Hunter could do was flinch at his brother's complete giddy glee after hearing the tale of what had transpired tonight. Even Harvest, the more mature brother was trying to hold back his own amusement and cover the residual grin with his cup.
"You mean to say, a woman called for you, danced for you, and directly fed you her magic and you dropped her… Dropped her?" Winter repeated the important part of the phrase twice just to make sure his brother realized his mistake. His eyes danced with merriment and The Hunter's annoyance brooded around him. Why had he come to them for help again? Oh right, he had no other bloody choice.
"Is it possible she fell back through the portal before it closed? If she fell back into her own time and place we should be fine. She might be scared to dance for you again but she would be well." Harvest reasoned trying to envision the best case scenario. They had only had 6 women in their history fall into the wrong time and place. Most of them had not ended well and only 2 returned home to their times.
"No. I watched the portal close. She hadn't reached it yet and vanished through another door left by that one closing." The Hunter admitted, knowing it would be best to just admit the truth in case he did need their help. It was possible she would not call him for help and he needed them to be willing to assist her, should she light the candle and call.
"Well then you had best hope she survives. Most girls who move worlds die within days. Men have a slightly better survival rate. What line was she, or do you know?" Winter asked bluntly. Some of his mirth was gone now. They were the human's guardians afterall. To have one perish due to their mistake was… difficult to swallow in general.
"She was a Lyn." Hunter spoke softly and the two elder brothers stared at him as though he was either an unimpressive but surprising ghost, or just plain stupid.
"You idiot. A woman from the Lyn family danced for you and you didn't claim her right that moment?" Demanded Winter and Harvest nodded his agreement before rubbing his temples.
"You dropped a Lyn girl into the void. What in all creation are you going to tell Lady Mother? Have you considered Lady Spring's reaction brother?" Harvest asked and Hunter winced again thinking about those two beautiful Goddesses with sweet temperaments. They were his greatest pleasure during the year, spending time with them at the last breath of Winter. This time however he had touched and lost a descendant of one of their chosen daughters.
"Yes… I have. What do we do?" Hunter asked quietly. This was not how he wanted tonight to end, and despite the fact she was a Lyn, he hoped the beauty would be alright. Her heart had been pure and decidedly in the right place protecting her coven.
"We find her and we try to protect her until we can get to her. Luckily Ellowyn was a genius at surviving in other universes." Harvest reasoned running a hand through his flaxen hair.
Hunter nodded as the brother's parted to their own Scrying Cauldrons to look into the worlds they knew. Hopefully she had a safe landing.
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Screaming was a waste of energy and did nothing to really help the situation. However, that didn't stop Adalyn from exercising her lungs during her free fall into the night sky. Call her an overachiever. The magic of the world she was falling into wrapped around her and melded with every pore of her being.
It was enough to remind her, she's a witch. Flying was part of her job description and for that matter, she had always been an articulate woman in the air. Fire and air was a goodly dance. She tried not to focus on the changes it was making in her body.
She managed to pull herself together in time to scan the land below her. Gathering the wind around her, Adalyn focused on controlling her decent. Slowing it, and allowing the pressure of the wind to guide, she aimed for the water below.
The water was not pleasant to land in, but her bones were intact. She let herself sink a while and just enjoy the feeling of being held up by something other than air. The air she commanded formed a breathable pocket around her, allowing her to sink without fear of drowning. She stretched her body experimentally and realized something was wrong. Something rough and scaly brushed against her stomach.
Adalyn changed course and rushed to swim out of the water. She didn't know what touched her but it was big. Definitely big enough to have her for a snack if it so chose. Seeing the bank she glanced back under her saw a flick of something serpentine out of the corner of her eyes. Reaching out wildly, nails sinking into the bank and hauling her body out of the water. She tried to lift a knee to push herself out of the water but… she couldn't. Instead, Adalyn turned and heaved herself up to roll out of the water before the beast could get her.
Rolling away from the water's edge, she realized something was very wrong. Her body felt weird, the magic that tended to circulate through her was taking longer than normal to check her for damages. Adalyn looked down and blinked rapidly as if unable to believe what she was seeing.
Her body was intact. Her dress was still situated over her chest, and her waist, her arms were complete and accounted for but as she moved down the hips to where her legs should be there were no lets. Instead there was a long serpent like tail that started at her hips and wound down in a gentle wave. "Liama." The word fell from her lips as Adallyn realized what she had become. The scaly monster had not chased her out of the water. She was the scaly monster. That thought took several moments to settle into her mind.
"Okay, let's take a logical look at this for a second. I have always liked snakes. The only thing is I liked snakes to play with… I never considered being one. No big deal. It can't be too hard? I'm still a mage. Worst comes to worst I use transformation magic to transform into… not a snake. No one needs to know I'm a snake." She started to ramble in effort to reason herself out of panicking. The rate of her heart beat and her overall agitation caused her to fail to realize her tail was flicking with annoyance. Something new that she would have to learn to control. "I need help." She stated finally running a hand over the scales of her tail. They were delicate and glassy, a little chilly and wet from her swim but otherwise pleasant to the touch. She even liked the odd sensation it caused when her fingertips traced over the scales. It was comfortable, but at the same time disconcerting. It was as if she had gone from having two legs to control and walk to one. One long tail to slither along the earth. She would need to be very wary of dog poop on the trail, Adalyn reasoned a bit grimmly.
"Wait…" Adalyn's eyes lit up and she felt over her person, thankfully the straps of her backpack and her belt were still attached to her. Thank goodness she thought to wear both to the gathering. She fumbled with the zipper and opened the pouch. Inside was a bunch of emergency care items. She couldn't help but laugh at herself.
She use to give Grandmother so much grief about caring for the three small survivor styled kits in her bag. They included simple things like paracord, small knives, a flint and steel, along with some other little tools like a sewing kit and water skin. Most of it was going to come in handy over the next few days. The second survivor pouch was on her belt, small and easily concealed but inside were 4 vials of seeds, 1 for each of the key ingredients in the Magic renewal potion, and 2 premade potions that were changed out every time they made a new batch. These were less than a month old.
Adalyn took one of the magic renewal potions and popped the cork off the potion. She touched the vial to her forehead and whispered "Thanks to the earth, and the Goddesses of New Born Moon, and thanks to the Gods of the Giving Moon. Fire and Water, Air and Earth to my soul, I beg you grant my Magic rebirth." Then she tossed back the clear liquid, her body absorbing it instantly. The amount of magic she had used since this morning was ridiculous for a practice gathering. She had nearly been on empty by the time she landed here.
After the effects of the potion took hold, she reached for the small field guide journal that was kept in her backpack beside her own journal. Partially because she was amused and partially because she had no idea what to write in it, She set her journal back in the leather back pulled out the second book.
It was much older than her own, but it had a careful sketch of their family insignia on the front, a Wolf back to back with a maiden as if their hair and fur grew from one another. Adalyn nearly laughed at herself as she opened the book.
"Dear child of the Lyn Line, I hope it is curiosity that has caused you to peek within this old book's bindings. If it is out of necessity I am truly sorry. I am Ellowyn, the first of the Lyn witches, and indeed the first to fall between worlds due to the careless hand of the Gods. Do not blame them for your fate, it will be hard enough to survive without anger and hatred in your heart. Now then, I wrote this book so that if another of my descendants finds themselves in this position they may do better than I did in surviving my ordeal. Please remember, though these words are my experience, yours may differ and depending on the world you landed in, this may be a book of don'ts as far as the social side of it goes, or a book of dos. No matter where you landed, the first few chapters hold true. After that, is simply the story of my life and what I discovered once I came here. If you lose your will to live, or you intend to try to dimension hop, there is a small section of pages at the back of this book that are meant for you at that time. Currently those pages will not open for you, not unless you are past the point of trying harder. Read them before you do anything final. Otherwise I hope my hard won wisdom affords you some help. Matriarch Elowyn, Founder of the Lyn Witch Coven." Alydia read the words aloud and let them soak into her skin. She was going to need these words, the instructions to at least try to survive. This was why Grandmother had her carry the packs. This book would be the key to getting home.
"Chapter one, Set Goals. Your first goal is to find and fortify some sort of shelter. Your first reaction will be to try to find a way home. Hold off on that. Most likely it will take more than one day for you to get home. For now find shelter, plant your power plant seeds if you got them, and find food. Settle in first, then try to get out." Adalyn thought about it a moment. This sounded like sound advice. She knew that there was very likely no easy way for her to go home right this moment. Knowing the answer, Adalyn looked at the subjects covered and sighed at herself. "All sorts of great topics including how to handle mating season in a shifter based land. Not a single chapter on what to do if you suddenly find yourself as a snake."