Blackfeather Woods Hocus Pocus

It had taken some time, but her preparations were complete. The witch stood in the altar, the ingrediants splayed out perfectly as the ritual demanded, but she looked over the temple ground once more, looking over the scattered bones and torn carcasses that were arranged in a particular shape, nightshade and cobwebs accompanying them.

She returned to the main altar, the plants she needed to cross from this world into the next sitting next to where her mother's pelvis fit firmly into the rock. More nightshade, jimson weed, Witch's hat, poppy, they all would help her reach into the Void and find her mother's soul.

But it wasn't enough to have the circle made and the herbs ready; she couldn't leave without help. @Kove would be her physical tether to Earth, holding her on and pulling her back if she went too far. She also wanted her brother @Damien, for the sake of telling him all that she saw. The white witch turned away from the altar, beginning to tip her head back and howling for her brother and her fellow priest. She called for @Kendra and @Cicero as well, but she wasn't sure if either of them would come. It mattered not; they would learn of what would happen later.

He heeded the call, if not only because it was for Kendra too. He had grown attached to the girl, a thing that did not happen often for Cicero. He had taken a few scouting trips of late and was now back in Blackfeather Woods. Cicero followed a trail that lead through the Woods, one that held a certain nostalgia to it as it was a path he'd taken often when he was younger. He then took a turn and headed towards Potema, where he found her at the altar.

There were herbs there and he instantly recognised they were mainly poisonous ones. Ears perked forward in curiosity and silent question to his sister as he looked upon her, curious for her purpose with them. He had not yet noticed their mother's pelvis there, or he might have been able to guess. "Is this a party of sort?" he asked, a mischievous tone to his voice as he spoke, the words obviously joking. He waited for others to arrive.

The girl heard the call, as she happened to be on her home turf. The girl still had the cobwebs with marigold on them pressed on her shoulder. After all she still had an ugly bite mark down there.

She kept her face with out emotion, and if there would be a sign of any emotion it would usually be a creepy smile or an angry frown. She felt rebellious enough to almost ignore the call but it sounded important. She had vanished with the shadows, her presence was not a lively one in the forest anymore.

She reached the group, seeing her brother and sister. Though she was not sure if she wanted to think of them like that. Without saying another word she sat down, her pale eyes looking at the pale woman and her ingredients.

Ever since the last time it had been spoken about, Damien had made a huge effort to leave his desire to contact his late mother for a better time. Potema had promised she would try to reach her, but the moment didn't seem to come nearer. It still burned inside him, the desire to talk to Meldresi, to ask for her guidance, but he had no clue how it could work through Potema's magic. Did she really learn enough with the witches at hag fen? Could she even make an attempt and filling the hole mother left behind? All the questions seemed to lead nowhere, not without a demonstration of any kind.

In silence Damien showed up at the temple curiously. Potema's howl revealed little of her plans or intentions, but Damien would never refuse a call form her knowing that she was his only potential gateway to the void and his mother, not to mention the safest connection to the daedra planes.

He brushed past Kendra, nuzzling her affectionately despite the tension in their relationship, and walked on to stand by his brother just in time to hear him make a mischievous question. Damien saw the herbs, none of them had meaning to him like they did to Cicero, or Kendra, or Potema herself, but one thing did. His mother's bones were there, carved by the witches of Hag Fen, decorated with mystic symbols. This reunion could only mean one thing, Potema was about to go to enter the void, she was finally going to reach out to Meldresi.

Pale eyes opened wide and looked up to Potema. His excitement became tangible and his heart pumped quicker in anticipation.

Drifting along the borders, he'd been pondering a trip to the lake when the howl had risen through the treetops. Recognizing the voice, and that he was one of the ones being summoned, his previous doings were abandoned and his direction changed. In the direction from which the howl had originated he'd gone, passing by the various trees until he had eventually reached the alter. He'd not been the first to arrive, his distance away having deemed that impossible, but he'd filed in just as he'd been meant to nevertheless. He'd been too late to have heard Cicero's comment, and knew not enough of plants to be able to identify anything that had been gathered and laid out. Their purposes, the risks, and the benefits all eluded him, but he held no intentions of questioning the young priestess. She knew what she was doing, that much he was certain of, and so she'd been left to explain why they were there whenever she'd deemed fit.

His gaze had drifted away and lingered briefly upon the pelvis, but with no knowledge on how the ritual worked, he could not assume that which she'd prepared to do. He'd drawn close, though, observing everything and anticipating whatever the pale girl had planned.

@Damien @Cicero @Kendra @Kove Next round she'll start the ritual for real!

Everyone came, one after another. Cicero came first, a wry smile on his face as he spoke jokingly. Not quite, She smiled, keeping quiet as she waited for the others to arrive.

She hardly noticed Kendra as she floated in, more wraith than wisp now. She found the pale dots first, then the eyes that reminded her so much of her mother. She nodded to Kendra, silently wishing the now dark-hearted girl would recognize that she was included. She wasn't forgotten.

Damien came next, and the excitement in his pale eyes far outmatched her own. Damien, out of them all, adored Meldresi the most. Whether Meldresi loved him the most was irrevelant,

Finally Kove arrived, his expression more filled with curiosity than

While in Hag's Fen, I came across a ritual that allowed the caster to briefly access the Void in order to speak with a deceased Dark Sibling. She didn't make it eloquent or fanciful, instead getting right to the point. I intend on using this ritual to speak to Mother, or at the very least see her. Kove, She turned to the pale priest. The ritual requires that someone unaffected by the magic to act as my anchor; waking me up if something goes wrong. I want you to be that person. It was this that she was most frightened by; even more so than seeing nothing at all. If she was stuck in there, or something grabbed her on her way through, then her mind was lost. She needed Kove.

Kendra watched her pale sister and how she looked at her. She nodded back but only because she was interested in how this female was even going to see her mother. It couldn't be true. She wanted to see her too, talk to her. But she doubted that was going to happen. Kendra kept her eyes on Potema to watch closely and she could maybe try this for herself, secretly.

His sister's words were about as cryptic as his own and he would have to wait until others had arrived before he would know what was happening. In silence he waited until eventually his sister began to speak. He was surprised by what she intended to do, if not only because he was not sure he deemed it possible.

However, if anyone could do it, it was Potema. Cicero looked to Kendra with a brief smile to show he was here and to show she was welcome, before turning eyes upon Potema and Kove, waiting for what was to come.

Damien's whole view of said ritual changed completely the moment Potema explained the dangers of it. He looked at his sister with darkened eyes, wondering whether he should be worried. She looked anxious. Making contact with Meldresi again was something Damien had had dreams about since her death, and he believed his brother and sisters wanted it just as much. This was no time to hold back.

With a nod, Damien urged Potema to continue. He stayed silent and didn't voice his concerns, his desire to talk to her again was stronger than anything by that point, clouding his reason. He did not know to what extent Potema would expose herself, or what consequences it might bring her should something go wrong during the ritual, but it was best not thinking about it, that way he wouldn't have second thoughts about it.

this guy is nuts

It'd been but a short while after they'd all arrived that the reasoning for their being there was revealed—Potema was going to seek out Meldresi from within the Void. He was excited, though his outward demeanor remained calm, for there would finally come a moment in which her soul could be reached. Though he would not be the one to see her, he was glad to at least have some sort of part to play in the actual ritual. And so he'd drawn nearer, offering a nod of his head as his role was accepted; there was no true choice to be made, and yet he'd felt it necessary to display his interest all the same. "I won't let you get trapped there," he'd stated, knowing that he could not cause the loss of the only one able to connect with the Void. He would watch out for her and, if things happened to go wrong, he'd yank her back into reality.

Briefly, he'd glanced towards the others, observing each expression for a fleeting second before giving his full attention to Potema. He was ready to listen and assist when needed.

TIME FOR DRUGZ

She breathed, trying her hardest to release the nervous pit in her stomach. She was being ambitious; her tutors warned against such hard spells until she was much older, but she desperately wanted to see Mother. To hear her voice again, to absorb her guidance. She only wished that her brothers and sister could too, but she didn't want them to be lost. They were much more vulnerable to the Daedra than she was.

The witch walked to the center of the altar, facing the pelvis and the herbs piled in front of it. She turned to Kove. There's soaked moss nearby if you need to splash my face with water. There weren't many concrete remedies for breaking the spell, other than pulling yourself out. She trusted herself to do that on her own, but she wouldn't dare underestimate the spirits that lurked in the Void. Try to talk to me if I'm not coherent. It was all she could say before she pulled the herbs to her, the words of the prayer on her lips.

Rōvēgrie Sithis, rual nyke ezīmagon aōha tegun, se Zōbrie, lo mērī syt iā byka jēda. Mephala, mīsagon nyke hae nyke geron konīr. Rōvēgrie Sithis, kostilus, rual nyke naejot ȳdragon naejot ñuha muña, Meldresi, lo mērī syt iā byka jēda. Bisa nyke beg hen ao.

The herbs entered her mouth and the world began to shift.

The pelvis before her glowed, the stark whiteness of the bone becoming blinding as the runes burst into color: red, purple, black, green, blue... And all the while the rest of the world bled away until there was nothing but her and the pelvis, bright and glowing in the darkness. She stood on nothing but shadows, watching the pelvis as it floated in front of her. A voice said, So be it. And Potema fell.

Potema shrieked then as the darkness blurred, streaks of gray and white permeating the darkness. She saw flashes of things as she fell, things she couldn't truly comprehend until she woke later on. Vision upon vision passed her eye, small children growing and growing before her, fire, thunder, snow, snarls and smiles. She couldn't process it all at once, especially as she kept falling. It seemed like an eternity passed before her desent ended. Potema panted, looking about her. It looked like Blackfeather Woods, but, if such things were possible, it was darker. All she could see was a wolf's length around her, illuminated by some unknown source. She stepped forth through fog and mist, gazing up and about her. Things moved in the shadows, voices echoed from somewhere far in the distance. She wandered for miles on end, wondering if this was the Void they all spoke of.

So you came. A familiar voice said behind her. An all too familiar voice. She turned and saw the black female behind her, indigo eyes and all.

Mother.

Mom? She asked, hoping it was her and not some trick of the Daedra.

The one and only. Mother smiled.

Everything was a blur afterwards, but she could only feel at the moment, happiness and warmth and comfort, the same feelings she felt when Mother was alive.

And as quickly as it began, it ended. She was swept upward, the sense of warmth and happiness quickly dissipating as darkness gave way to light, and Potema shook, her eye opening with shock. It was as if she had been dunked in cold water, but she was dry.

Potema looked around, confused by her surroundings until she realized where she was. She was in Blackfeather Woods, with her family. She was alive. Oh, thank Sithis. She murmured.

Kendra watched with full focus as Potema and as she pulled several herbs and plants towards her for eating. The girl wished she could study them closely. She thought she recognized one that caused hallucinations. She frowned. That was not a spell.

The girl watched how Potema took the herbs. Kendra wondered if this was going to make her sister sick. Maybe she was as crazy as Cicero by taking poisons himself. Maybe this was some sort of a poison. The young female watched. It was a strange sight.

Kendra jumped when she heard Potema speak 'Mom?'. Was she there with her? Kendra instantly rushed forward towards the left over herbs. If Potema was going to see them She wanted to see her mother too!

She hasn't taken the herbs yet, so feel free to stop her.

feel free to skip me if it's necessary in future rounds, cicero will likely just watch anyway unless things escalate heavily.

He watched, curious to see what would happen there, ears perked forward in curiosity as he wondered if she would truly be capable of doing it. He was not sure what he was counting on, or not; he wasn't sure how much he believed in all of this, in the depths that Potema took it, but if anyone could do it, then it was her. She took the herbs and something seemed to change. Of course something changed; Cicero knew better than any of them gathered, bar his own sister, what the effects of such herbs were, considering the amounts he took regularly.

As he watched Potema intently, curiously philosophising in his mind whether his sister was actually seeing their mother or whether she was simply delirious, Cicero did not notice Kendra going for the herbs at all.

Damien watched impatiently as his sister instructed Kove on what to do during the ritual. The Inuit was diligent, he had always been such and Damien appreciated the gesture and his loyalty, but they were wasting precious time that he could be using to talk to his mother. The dark prince frowned, feeling anxious when his sister took the herbs and started saying the spell. He couldn't make out the words, but he could tell he was asking Sithis permission to enter his reign.

She was in, the spell and the herbs had taken, and Potema was dancing in lost thoughts. At that point Damien did not know if she had successfully entered the void, if Sithis had allowed it, but he had no doubts about the reality of all unlike his brother and sister.

At first, all Potema did was mumble nonsense, then shrieked, putting Damien's guard hairs on end. He glanced at Kove, wondering whether this was normal. His witch sister started breathing heavily, but Damien made no move.

'Mom?' said the witch, and Damien's ears pricked up. He almost missed Kendra rushing forward, getting dangerously close to Potema, she was going to pull her out and he could not let that happen, not at that point. The shadow jumped forward too, catching up with the girl and tackling her aggressively to prevent her from breaking the spell. He looked around imperiously and growled, "No one touches her!" before placing himself right in front of the witch. "Mother?" he barked desperately, trying to find her in Potema's eye. "Mother can you hear me?" he tried again, this time yelling the words at his sister's blank stare, but there was no response. And as soon as it began, it ended.

Potema blinked, and her eye seemed to focus again. "No!" growled Damien at her, but there was nothing he could do. His sister looked around confused, and then mumbled something under her breath that Damien didn't hear. "What was that? What did she tell you!?" he asked desperately, "Mother! What did she say!?" he asked, anger quickening inside his skull and spilling out of his eyes.

EDIT: tagging so we can finish this thread! Maybe one more round would be enough?
@Potema @Kendra @Cicero

It'd been so quickly that the spell had been cast, the girl having entered into the void, only to resurface hardly a moment later. All the while, Kove had remained there, focused solely upon Potema and no one else. She was his responsibility for the time being, the continuation of her life having been placed upon his shoulders. He would not let her slip away, he knew that he couldn't, and so relief seemed to flood his system the moment she'd recovered. In spite of Damien's words and desperation, the Inuit had approached the young witch, offering himself to her should she require the support. Curious was he, too, of what Meldresi had said, but never had he asked. Ensuring that she was well was far more important than hearing a message from the late ruler, believed the man, and so it was towards the pale girl that he'd look for further instruction.

The darkness still remained in her mind, but the connection was gone. The yells from her brother were muted; a ringing was in her ear until she jerked upward, the sound coming back as if she was dunked underwater. Potema's ears were slicked back against her head, her eyes wide as she attempted her best to regain her coherence. I....she said... She leaned against Kove's body, still filing the information she had just received. Brother, I...have to tell you later...I can't...

Almost like an outsider, someone who did nothing but watch, did Cicero look upon the meeting as it unfolded. Kendra did not reach the herbs, Damien moving in front of her, then turning to face Potema. The words did not concern Cicero, for while he had loved their mother, she was gone now. If he wished to speak to her, he could speak to her in his mind, in his own time, whether her answers were truth or merely fiction within his head.

Without another word Cicero slipped away, knowing that Potema had made contact with Meldresi and knowing it would not happen again, now. He was not sure if Potema wished to tell him of it, since she said she would tell Damien later, but he would see about it. Time would tell if she would or would not. He slipped away, left to his own thoughts for a while as he slunk through the darkness of the woods.

Despite his impassible desire to know what Mother had told Potema, Damien could not force his sister to speak in such conditions. She was visibly beaten and disoriented, obviously an after-effect of the ritual, and like everyone else Damien felt some concern within him. Had all of it been for nothing? Had he lost that connection to Meldresi forever? Those questions were perhaps only his, but still they reached his core, beat down his hope and left him feeling naked. What was he without Meldresi?

Damien could feel the air escape his chest, his knees get frail and the world become heavy. He sat back before losing balance, taking one step back from his sister and Kove. Blank eyes stared at the temple, now devoid of usefulness to him. "Kove-" he stuttered, unable to really focus on the moment, "You take care of her, I... I need to find Cicero," he lied, seeing his brother's escape as an excuse to leave the scene himself. That was when he raised, dangerously unsteady, and walked off silently, not even making an effort to follow Cicero's path. He'd gone nowhere, to the dark, to his own world, and for days he did not come back.