Chapter 9-295: Of the Sky and Mortals (1/2)

Opening the Sky got a lot of attention. To heck with Christmas, the Solstice celebration that had replaced it was definitely the biggest holiday of the year, and with a great purpose behind it. It was the longest night of the year, where people came together to ward off the long dark night, and defy the powers behind it.

But in Detroit, you got to see the stars.

Now, the circle they Opened in the Haze wasn’t too large, only a mile or two, forsaking area for increased strength to overcome the resistance of the Haze, driving it back about two miles in radius. Still, it was a large enough area for literally millions of people to see the sky.

No cars were allowed in that area on the night of the Ceremony, just to allow more people to see it, but that wasn’t a problem this year. While the no-cars ban was enforced, the people were astonished to be shown to parks after parking lots after fields for miles around, not just within the former area beneath it.

If they protested, they were simply informed, “Lady Traveler is Opening the Sky this year,” and the people shut up in expectation of a show.

I really intended to give them one.

Above and beyond this, many colleges and research facilities had been contacted, along with a lot of amateur stargazers and photographers. There were missile launchers in place miles from the center of the Ritual, ready to send stuff up above the Haze and see what happened. Missile tech for the planet was actually fairly advanced, despite not being able to get above the Haze. A little recalibration from cruise missile ground-hugging to parabolic arcing and/or going for height was an easy thing to make happen.

The big thing was testing out the backlash against technology. Some genius Artificers had remade a series of guidance mechanisms to determine how much backlash there was going to be against tech from above the Haze. From old V1-style mechanical gyroscopes to the most sophisticated computer-guidance electronics they could put in place, various kinds of missiles were getting ready to be launched up and out, arcing out over Lake Hudson for when they inevitably petered out.

If they breached the Haze and blew up immediately, that was the worst level of news. They all had slightly different fuel mixes, too, some of them extremely volatile. If both the anti-chemical and anti-flammable materials Rules were in place outside the Haze, none of the missiles would get very far. Levels of different artificial materials were also in sensitive locations, so if they started degrading, the missiles would blow. How long it took and which ones exploded would give us more information to work with, analyze, and relay on to the world.

Needless to say, this was going to be a very different Opening of the Sky than before. Unfortunately, driving back the Haze didn’t get rid of the interference, so there was no ability to use radar to track the missiles, or radio to control them, or even magic, the power of the Shroud blocked it all. We could only shoot them up, and watch what happened.

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She stood out among the crowd of Sylunar taking their places because of her beauty, and long hair that was definitely not Cantrip’d to that light blue color. There were plenty of the more Chaotic types who applied all sorts of colors to their hair simply because they could, but hers actually grew that way.

Her coming here had been confirmed quietly, and as she had helped out before, it wasn’t anything suspicious. As one of the most powerful Mystic Theurges of Sylune alive, it was almost a given she would participate, and indeed, she could have been the anchor in prior years.

However, in the last two months, there had been a quiet but massive shift in the balance of power in the Churches present. Younger Priests and Wizards had flocked to start shooting undead, following the Double Helix Method, and their Levels had skyrocketed. Blessings and Marks had allowed those formerly stuck at lower Levels to suddenly leap in strength, reinforce their own Stats with more Levels, and advance properly, overtaking their seniors who hadn’t gotten themselves Drained down and taken the proper road.

There were tons of Sixes all over the place now, at least double that of previous years, and it created a new hum of power and energy. Some of the older Priestesses who’d rapidly been eclipsed looked a bit out of sorts, as now they had to try and rely on seniority to order around juniors who were more powerful than they were... and it wasn’t sticking.

That was especially true if they were in my Allegiance. If the structure of a particular church didn’t allow them to do what was needed to get stronger, or they were being stifled by their seniors, they simply departed. Threats of retribution from the Faith meant nothing in the end. Sylune Herself, or Aru, or Amana, or Harse or Nuava or Whoever was the only true test. If the Priest of a God continued receiving spells from them, it meant they were not out of favor with that god. The mortal hierarchy better take note, or THEY would be the ones punished for their behavior, not an ‘errant Priest’ who obeyed Divine Will over mortal rules.

Getting that explained to them could and had created several crises of faith among some of the Priests, as they realized that seniority and Levels didn’t give them absolute authority to boss around those of lower Level... and certainly not to stop their ‘lessers’ from doing the Will of their god.

I, however, had another reason to stop and look at her.

“Azaia Morningwind.” She turned around in surprise, as did most of the others nearby when I spoke, astonished they hadn’t seen me arrive. Using Stealth Ranks to invert your Presence to stay unnoticed in a crowd is a nice trick, and actually works better with a higher Charisma score.

That I knew her was a given, as the Mystic Theurges were the elite of the Church, and she was a member of the Morning family, formerly the highest-Level family of spellcasters on the planet.

She was also the one who’d used her own hair on an animated wooden pony sent to her lonely half-sister as a gift, and checked in on her from time to time.

“Yes, Lady Traveler?” Someone sharp-eyed might have noticed a family resemblance... but then, all beautiful halvyri tended to look alike, and the two of us were kind of at the opposite ends of the light/dark spectrum, her cerulean hair at least as airy and ethereal as white would be, given her aura. She had the Morningsun golden eyes, unlike me, and was a genius of the Church, with natural Stat lines that ensured she’d be able to max out her Levels in normal circumstances.

I had it on good authority that she was planning to visit the Harse temple in Boston, get Drained down, and start rebuilding herself properly, too.

“Why do you have two Aural Binds upon you, Miss Morningwind?” I asked coolly.

Her golden eyes widened slightly as my own glittered back, silver and darkness, and a bunch of startled eyes turned on her. “I-I do?” she could only stammer.

I lifted my hand, and uttered a short, sharp note as the Break Enchantment came down around her in a swirl of silvery stars and sparkles, suffusing her Aura and shattering the Lesser Geases upon her effortlessly. They broke with visible pops and fiery displays of light, and she almost fell down as they did.

She would also be hearing and feeling the words that had been forced into her Aura, likely without her even knowing what had truly happened, and so had influenced her behavior for her entire life.