The evening came faster than I expected. I was deep in my cultivation, clearing my Spleen Meridian as quickly as I was could when Magnus brought me out of my meditation. In one afternoon, I managed to open more than half of my final meridian. I was getting so close to unlocking my Middle Dantian and the massive power increase that would bring me.

“Bro, one of the villagers is here. The moon is up and it is time for the high priestess to find our families.”

It took me a moment to come to my senses, but once I could process what Magnus had said, I leapt to my feet and was halfway to the front door in a blink. “Lets get going then,” I said.

Laura, the High Priestess, spent her moderate perk like her crafters did, except it wasn’t exactly a workshop for a craft. It was a workshop for The Craft. As an owner of a settlement, she got a permanent ritual room. The room was decorated in the triple aspect of her goddess Hecate.

An image of a half-moon adorned the ceiling. It exactly matched the phase of the moon outside. They mounted torches that gave off a silvery light on the thirteen pillars that formed a circle almost the full size of the room. Inlaid in silver, on the marble floor in the center of the room, was a silver pentacle. in its center stood a short pillar, perhaps three-feet tall, sat in the exact center with a wide, shallow bowl filled with water on top of it.

Statues and pictures of many breeds of dogs adorned the walls and stood next to the pillars. Each pillar had carvings with images of various herbs, vines, and yew trees.

Against the wall opposite of the door, we entered by a large altar stood. Incense burned on it, giving the air a sweet and rich scent. The altar was adorned with herbs, small dog figurines. I thought I even saw a clove of garlic sitting on it. I knew little about Hecate or her imagery, but it was pretty obvious dogs played a big part of it.

Stephanie stood just inside the doorway in her ritual room, wearing a loose bathrobe and slippers. “I welcome thee into this sacred abode. Please enter,” she said with a slight bow.

Magnus and I entered the ritual room. My heart hammered in my chest in anticipation of seeing my family, though dread tried to push its way in through the corners of my mind. What ifs passed through my mind, making my feet feel as heavy as lead as I stepped through the threshold. My heart was torn between hope and fear. The turbulent emotions that filled me made my breath quicken in my lungs, and my hands shake.

“Which of you would like to go first?” the High Priestess asked.

I felt like I had a lump in my throat and I couldn’t get any words out. I had to get myself under control before I took my turn, so I gestured for Magnus to step forward and go first.

In order to regain control of my-self, I focused first on my breathing. The breathing pattern I used for cultivating came most naturally to me, so I focused on that. It took a while, but I could eventually get my breathing under control, which helped slow my heart rate and calm the shaking in my hands.

Once I could focus outside of myself, I looked up and saw the robe the high priestess wore pooled on the floor next to her slippers. I looked towards the pentacle and saw her in her full glory. She wore not a stitch of clothing. She stood there with her feet shoulder width apart, hands raised over the wide bowl on the pillar. Silvery light reflected from the water’s surface shimmered over her body. She looked regal and magnificent. I could feel the power flowing from the room into her before being channeled into the bowl. Her shoulder length auburn hair floated in a nonexistent breeze and the sight captivated me.

This was a woman of power, confident in her abilities, and displayed no shame in her nudity. She was a woman to be respected and admired, and definitely not to be fucked with.

Phantom images formed of mist rose from the bowl. I could just make out an older man fighting off some kind of hairy monster. Behind the man was the vague outline of three women and a handful of children. I had the impression they were running away while the man held back the beast. As the fleeing figures faded away, the creature managed to land a fatal blow on the man. The mist faded away as the beast leaned in and was about to devour him.

As the light show faded away, Magnus slumped to his knees. Tears flowed down his face and between the heart-rending sobs, I could make out just a few words. “Dad… that way…. saving… a hero”

It took several minutes before he could pull himself together enough to stand and thank the High priestess. “Thank you. At least I know. He went out with honor. A true man to his last breath. My father died a hero, and I will always honor him. Thank you, High Priestess.” After that, Magnus turned and staggered his way out the door. I’ll talk to him later. For now, he needs some time alone.

“John, are you prepared?” Laura asked.

With a deep breath, I stepped forward and said, “Yes, I am.”

“Very well. Please stand before the scrying pool. I will begin the ritual momentarily. When I give you a nod, I need you to prick yourself with my Athame’ and let a drop of blood fall into the water. Picture the blood relation you wish to see clearly in your mind. If they live, an image of them will appear in the water, showing them and their surroundings at this very moment. If they did not survive, as was the case with Magnus, the water will churn, releasing a silver vapor that will show what their fate was. Do you understand?”

“I do,” I said.

“Then let us begin,” she said. She handed me a thin, double-edged dagger with an ornate silver handle and a nine-inch blade. It was razor sharp and came down to a point as fine as a needle. The Athame’ carried a great weight in my spiritual senses, enough that it made the blade feel heavier in my hand than it actually was.

The High Priestess extended her hands over the three-foot-wide scrying bowl and began her incantation.

“By the light of the moon

We seek a boon

I call upon thee

My Goddess, face of three

Guide our sight

Under the silver light

Trace the link by blood

Unfold in our sight like a flowers bud

Show us the kin await

or what became of their fate

By the powers three

So, mote it be.”

Her voice held a deep reverberation that seemed to echo in the room. The very air vibrated with each syllable uttered. When she came to the line about tracing the link of blood, she nodded at me and I pricked my finger with the blade. I massaged a drop of blood from my fingertip and let it fall into the still water.

As the blood touched the surface of the water, a silver spark of light flashed. The water rippled far more than the single drop would have caused. The water continued to ripple outward from the disappearing drop of blood until it all stilled. The water resembled a pane of black glass, no movement or light reflected off of it. After a few moments, a pinpoint of light appeared in its center, then it grew until the silvery light encompassed the entire bowl.

The light slowly faded, and I could see moving images like there was a hole in the sky and I was looking down through it. After another moment, the images cleared and I could hear sounds coming out of the water.

I could see my son Drake; he was standing next to his stepfather and in front of his little sister as they fought against monsters. They looked like Giant Praying Mantises that had to be at least as tall as I was. Drake was holding my old Light saber hilt that I had custom ordered years ago. One of those dueling light sabers that cost at least a few hundred bucks. But instead of the acrylic tube extending out of it, a black cylinder with a red glow emanated from the hilt. With every swing, the blade burned and dissolved the monster’s carapace. He was helping his stepfather, Baron, hold off the monsters as they slowly retreated to a small building.

My wife, Rose, stood behind them with Kassie, drake’s sister. She held a gnarled looking staff with vines twining around the head and cast a root spell, very similar to the one Kiara used. Our other dog, Balder, was by her side. But instead of a forty-pound, almost pure white Husky mix, he had to be three times the size he used to be. Not as big as Rukia was now, pony sized, but still it was a huge difference.

Drake’s mother kept appearing from different monsters’ shadows, stabbing into them with a black and red-colored blade that looked like a straightened Katana before disappearing again and emerging from a different shadow.

My hands gripped the edge of the bowl as one beast managed to work its way past Drake’s dark flame blade and stabbed my son in the stomach. Drake managed to sever it, but only after it struck him.

My blood boiled in my chest, the pressure rising and trying to force its way out. It took all of my self-control and willpower to push it back down. I needed to see what was happening and couldn’t afford to let my bloodline ability break free.

“GET DRAKE AND KASSIE INSIDE,” Baron yelled as his mechanical hand morphed into a three-foot-long blade. He blocked the scythe-like forelimb of a giant praying mantis before sweeping his whole arm back and severing the limb at the shoulder.

Rose dragged Drake into the convenient store, his little sister following closely behind. Kassie clutched at a small fox in her arms, trying to hold back the tears and screams that wanted to crawl out of her throat. She was only six years old, not even old enough to choose her own path.

As soon as Drake was inside and away from the giant insects trying to eat them, Rose pulled the severed mantis blade from Drake’s stomach. He groaned in pain as blood welled out of the ghastly wound. Rose moved her staff over Drake’s body while she spent five seconds casting her Nature Magic spell. The green gem hidden among the leafy vines at its head glowed with a soft emerald light.

My heart caught in my throat and I felt a wave of relief spread through me as I saw my wife cast her healing spell on my son.

“Balder, Protect Drake and Kassie,” Rose ordered Balder.

Balder stood between the kids and the front of the store, his fur shifting from mostly white to a slate grey and his fangs taking on a translucent crystalline color. He was ready to stop any blow meant for his little humans.

He had abilities similar to the ones Rukia had, but it looked like he was earth aligned instead of ice, like his sister.

Kassandra rose from the last mantis’s shadow. Her red and black sword gathered black shadows as it slashed towards the back of the monster. The blade cut easily through the carapace, causing a deep, bleeding wound. The shadow stuff coating the blade clung to the wound, seeping in to the creature’s blood. The mantis’s blows against Baron grew weaker.

Baron’s sword glowed a deep cherry red. I could sense through the pool the Ki he used to infuse it. He thrust it deep into the mantis while distracted from the attack from behind. The blade pierced its armor, and he dragged the blade up through its thorax and out near its neck.

The mantis toppled over, dead from the various injuries it suffered. Kassandra looted the monster while Rose lifted her Staff, the gem glowing brighter as she activated one of the Staff’s abilities. A series of vines broke through the concrete covering the ground and interwove themselves into a thick wall of vegetation. Thorns, as long as her fingers and sharp enough to score steel, grew everywhere. Anything that tried to make its way through that would pay the price in blood and flesh.

Kassandra knelt by Drake and checked on her son’s condition. The bleeding slowed, and the wound was closing.

Baron’s sword shifted back to his metal gauntlet looking prosthetic hand, and he collapsed inside the convenient store. With exhaustion filling his voice, he said, “Good choice for your medium perk, Rose. How long will that thorny hedge stay up?”

“It doesn’t have a timer on it. I think it will stay as long as it survives. It’s an actual plant instead of something conjured.”

Kassie curled up in her father’s lap, seeking comfort and protection from the chaotic world.

Drake slowly sat up, his arm covering his middle as the movement caused him to wince in pain. “Take it easy. You took a hard hit,” Kassandra said. The worry for her son was clear in her voice.

“I wish dad was here,” Drake said, his voice quiet and tears leaked from the corner of his eyes.

“I’m here, son,” I whispered. Tears flowed down my cheeks and dripped into the scrying pool. My son was fighting for his life and I was still over four hundred miles away. I needed to be there now. My only consolation was that my wife met up with my ex-wife and her husband, working together to survive.

“I know dear, I’m Sure he is ok and knowing John, he is already halfway home by now,” she said.

Everyone started for a moment as two mounds rose from the turned earth at the base of the Thorn Wall. They relaxed when in the reddish head of Krom and the tan head of Alma broke through the soil. The bearded dragons weren’t as fast over long distances as the rest of the group and took them a bit of time to catch up. They clambered out of the tunnel they created, their two-foot-long bodies, and even longer tails took a few seconds to clear the holes. It didn’t help that it looked like they had gorged on one of the dead insects that they didn’t manage to loot.

My ball python Apophis slithered out of the hole made by the bearded dragons; I was astonished by how big she had grown. She had to be half a foot wide and nearly ten feet long. She was only three feet long the last time I saw her.

The ripples in the bowl slowly returned. They moved in reverse, converging at the point my drop of blood fell into the water. With each ripple that passed, the image distorted further until the image became a mix of colors. A few more ripples later, even the colors faded away until nothing but clear water remained.

My eyes stayed fixed on my son until the image was completely gone, even then I stared at where he was moments before. My son is still alive. My family is still alive. Joy filled my heart. No matter how much I clung to the hope that they would survive, there was always the nagging doubt. The dread and despair at the thought of losing him too barely kept away. But they were there, fighting for their lives. Still living.

I felt my resolve to get home harden in my core. My will firmed, and my determination raged inside me like a bonfire. I will get home. I will reach my wife and son. The gods help anyone who stands in my way.

After profusely thanking the High Priestess for giving me a glimpse of my wife and son. I returned to our lodgings and settled in. Before the sun rises above the horizon, I will finish clearing my eighth and final meridian.