Watching the spectres, while keeping an eye on Rai, was fascinating. At first, I had thought their movements were random, purely the product of chance and malignant intent to feed or something along those lines, certainly not part of something greater. But the longer I watched, the more their movement became predictable and I got the feeling that it wasn’t just mindless creatures moving back and forth, that there was a certain pattern to it, a certain grace. Almost akin to a dance, only one without touching, without legs and certainly without music. Or maybe, I just couldn’t hear the music.

Closing my eyes, relying on Lenore to keep watch on my immediate surroundings, I focused on my smell and taste, as my tongue flickered out to taste the air again and again, looking for that ephemeral something that I thought had to be there. Magical creatures, for as much as I disliked undead, they certainly qualified, engaged in a dance, there had to be a magical component to it, I was almost certain. And there certainly was magic in the air, I had noticed it before, failed to properly parse the different scents and tastes in that overwhelming bouquet but now I was taking my time.

As I was crouching there, I noticed that my fingers had taken to tapping out a rhythm on a small rock, a rhythm that somewhat correlated to the overall movement of the spectres. Their back and forth matched the ebb and swell of my tapping, at least if I didn’t focus on my hand but let them move along the odd sensation I was tasting.

“I think the magic is binding them.” I told Lenore, sending the weird sensation I had noticed along with the thought, causing her to mentally still.

“There is certainly something. Can you take a look through my sight again?” she asked and I did as asked, opening my left eye, letting the right remain shut to allow full focus on that single sense. Even my smell and taste drifted into the background of my mind, as I fully focused on the patterns of magic Lenore could see. And there were patterns, not necessarily in the overall form, but in the brightness, for lack of a better descriptor.

“Fascinating.” she muttered, completely absorbed in the images we were seeing. A part of me wanted to start dancing on my own, to move along the pattern that held the wraiths in thrall, that caused their endless dance. I wanted to find a place of my own in their dance, even if I had a feeling that I didn’t belong amongst the dead. At least not yet.

Rai on the other hand lacked those compunctions, when I took another glance at him, I noticed that he had moved even closer, still hidden within the boundary of twilight, between the shadow of night and the light of day but his faint form was moving with the wraiths. His addition to the dance changed it in subtle ways, the forms becoming a little clearer, more regular, giving me a few more hints at that underlying order. The taste of the music became stronger and I found myself getting pulled in, watching their performance.

When the clouds parted, just a little, the light of the moon shining down, giving the wraiths something more, a substance they had lacked before and as they gained substance, Rai seemed to be losing some of his. He became something different, something closer to the wraiths he was moving with, his form shifting between the indistinct realm of twilight and reality, only that in reality, his form kept some of the hazy qualities inherent to the twilight.

That thought brought another with it, the realisation that Rai might be shifting into something in between, just like the Twilight was in between night and day, he became something between wraith and normal being. At least that was my assumption, I would have to wait until his dance ended and he returned, to take a close look at him, both on a physical and a magical level.

Lenore was quite fascinated with my assumptions, adding her own observations in an attempt to understand what we were watching. There were even moments in which a wraith seemed to be moving through Rai, interacting with him like an equal.

I wasn’t sure how Rai knew how to move and interact with them, but the longer I watched, the more obvious the pattern became. By the time he had moved with them for about an hour, I was almost certain I would be able to join in, to follow their dance, yet I remained where I was. Whatever was going on there, I didn’t think it was for me, it was Rai who had noticed it, Rai who had joined in, it just wouldn’t do for me to interrupt whatever their ritual was.

Their dance continued through the night, the pattern of their movement constantly changing, but always within the same, rigid form. When the first rays of the sun started to creep across the distant ridges, the shadows started to change and shift, the twilight returning and the underlying form of their dance changing once more. In that change, Rai ceased to be part of their pattern, gracefully moving back into the twilight and ghosting away from their constant movement, making his way back to the ridge upon which I waited.

Just before he reached me, I lost track of his form when he moved into the sun, his existence seemingly fading away. At the same time, I felt a vague disturbance a few metres away from me, whirling around, my magic primed and ready to be used only to watch his form fade back into my perception, not quite visible, not quite corporeal but definitely there.

“You succeeded, disciple?” I asked, desperately trying to hide just how disturbing the sensation was. He had managed to fade from my perception and I couldn’t even put a finger on the method to do so, I had barely noticed him reappearing and I had trained him, so I should know his tricks and how to counter them. But I didn’t know, not any longer. What if an enemy had similar tricks, ways to evade my detection to the point that I would only notice them the moment a blade pierced something vital? Pushing down the unpleasant sensation of vulnerability, I focused on him and made a mental note to work on my perception, both magical and mundane.

“I did, Teacher. I crossed the second Divide.” he reported and I could only nod in acceptance and compliment. Looking at him, I noticed that he seemed to have changed, that it was almost as if he had aged a few years, not physically, but there was something about him that made him feel older. The set of his mouth, a shadow in his eyes, they all made me more than a little concerned.

“Would you tell me about your experience?” I asked, knowing that it was something intensely personal, something only to be shared with those closest to you. I certainly wouldn’t share the details about my Divides with Adra or Olivia and with Rai, only if I deemed it necessary to teach him. But I asked nevertheless, not only to assuage my curiosity, but also in concern as his teacher. He hesitated, but only for a moment, before nodding.

“I noticed the call of the shadows yesterday, but I didn’t know what it was. When I saw the Shades, I felt their call, their request to dance.” he explained and I noticed that his fingers were tapping the rhythm I had noticed during the night against his leg.

“There was so much death here, so many lingering desires and regrets. The souls that imprinted those feelings on the land have long moved on, but their passing has tainted the land.”

“That crag, it was a mass-grave, only that the buried weren’t always dead.” he softly added, a shudder racking his body and I felt the hairs in the back of my neck stand. That was a horrific way to go, dying in the crush of bodies, buried alive with your dead companions, slowly suffocating as their weight pressed the air from your lungs.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the mental images from my mind, focusing on the present, on my surroundings. Placing a hand on Rai’s shoulder, I tried to give him some comfort and support, as I could see that he was much more affected by the experience.

“The dead will linger, but we will continue to move.” I assured him, before adding, “But I hazard that the experience will always linger with you.”

He nodded, closing his eyes for a moment, before replying. “I know.” he paused, taking a deep breath, “I think I managed to give them some relief, share some of their pain.”

“A burden shared, is a burden halved?” I asked, getting a shallow smile in return. He was obviously not ready to share platitudes but the way he appeared gave me hope that he’d be okay.