Ranni
The snow witch sat quietly as she watched her companion gather a few things for their meal. Ranni's eye lingered on her. They had been allies now for as long as Ranni had known Melina, and she treasured the bond they shared even now.
Yet something had changed. Something happened when the little candle would chatter for hours about what random fortress had frustrated her explorations. When she would talk of flowers she loved to collect and press. Whenever her eye began to burn with that passion, Ranni felt her heart gain pace in moments.
"Fluffy," the candle intoned the cheery nickname she had begun to use for the snow witch, "did you want me to go hunt a rabbit or two for dinner?" Looking up at the witch as she held a bundle of sticks. Her hair was tied back in a little tail to avoid the new issue of sweating with a torn fabric patch covering her shut eye to avoid risks of frostbite.
"That would be rather nice." She answered softly. "Just be careful, won't thee?" She added on, worry stricken whenever the kindling would vanish into the snow for resources. Ranni herself had regained her magic as it was mainly just knowledge turned to form, but it was limited. It ensured they would never run out of water or wood, and the icy storm would not harm them, but she had few other spells not intended for war or battle. She had theories she had been crafting ever since she had found the strange journal.
It was a leather bound book with rather strange bindings. The string and paper were made from the same tree using different segments, yet she had never felt such strong materialized that seemed so well used. The cover was faded where the name had been written, but she managed to make out a t, an a, an m, and an i, leaving her with Tam..i.
Whoever lost it had been some kind of master alchemist with recipes and diagrams for spells she had never seen in the lands between. She had spent nights already just reading the fine pages with their strange and messy writings yet articulate drawings and designs. She had already managed to craft a small formula that enhanced her snow sorcery with only berries and the right amount of water derived from snow. The possibilities were numerous.
She was currently turning to a page on the Rite of Death bane when the candle began to step away. She could not imagine how vital this page could be once they eventually began the final phases of her grand scheme. Robbing Maliketh of that shard would be difficult, but this would be incalculably useful.
The recipe seemed far too simple, so she had assumed it must be hiding a secret cipher. By the text, all one required to repel a being of death was gold. Gold worked best the purer it was, and more so were it steeped in holy water, yet that couldn't possibly be all to it. Marika herself radiated both gold and holy light, yet Maliketh was her very shadow. To suggest that she was his weakness would be hysterical by itself.
She studied over its words and diagrams, suggesting a strange T shaped relic, and that use of this is an old practice by humans of this alchemists world. Curious, she wondered if their practice tied to a deity of some sort. The writing did not hint either way, but she also had many pages faded with time. The paper itself was resilient, but the ink was not.
Delicate fingers worked over paper as she began to move on for the time being. There were recipes here for such strange concoctions, such as a potion made to grow extra appendages, change ones species, and even develop specific powers. They all sounded like painful yet quick processes, but the witch was still too unaccustomed to her own flesh again to consider altering it further. Though, the extra appendages could be useful again down the line.
She smiled, steadily losing herself in these pages as she began to remember fondly on kinder days. She thought of a precious drawing and wondered what could ever have become of her first sight of that beloved Dark Moon.
...
The Caria Library. 9 years after the birth of the Lunar Princess Ranni.
Rennala
The queen of Caria smiled as she slowly opened the grand doors to the library. Dressed lightly in a simple red robe and a golden pair of slippers gifted to her by her precious spouse, she giggled warmly at the sight of a little poof of red stuck out among a dragon's horde of books. Tucked into the west corner of the circular room, nestled behind one of the curved bookshelves with nearly every tome removed was her little ball of eager learning.
"I see someone is up again past their dreaming hour." The queen playfully teased as she walked toward the little rambunctious princess.
Red curly hair bounced free as a little head popped out of the book horde to the many spilling of pages. A big goofy grin spread across the little girl's face as her beautiful blue eyes glistened brightly. "Mama! Look!" Bursting from the pile like a glint stone from a meteor shower and rushing towards her with a tightly clutched paper, the rushing child was far too adorable. Rennala could make out a small blue drawing at first before the princess finally stopped panting and shaking from her little sprint and held it aloft to her.
"And what is this?" The moon queen asked with a quirked and playful brow.
"I saw it, Mama! I saw it!" Holding up to her a picture the girl had drawn by hand. It was a beautiful night full of stars and the largest moon she had ever seen. Blue, yet it was a darker blue.
"The moon?" She asked as she gently took the picture. "My, this is beautiful, Ranni." She admired her with a pat on the little girl's head. It was a rather lovely drawing that captured a feeling of a beautifully dark moon. "Shall we put this up for all to see?"
The princess bounced in excitement. "Ya!" The girl then ran, shouting for her best friend Blaidd as the moon queen softly chuckled.
"Always leaving messes about." She mused as she turned and whisked the vast pile of books with a flick of her wrist. "Well, she was excited." Smiling as she settled them back onto the shelves.
She paused her returns when one book floated up of note. It was a very old tome with bindings of leather that sent a shiver across Rennala to see. Three lines like a scorched grip wrapped around it. "What is this..?" As she floated it to her.
As she touched the book, she felt a fiery ache go through moon queen's mind, gripping her temple quietly as her thoughts began to frenzy. The book fell with a loud thump on the floor. Her hand gripped the drawing and looked at it for a moment. It seemed to calm her, seeing her beloved moon. Her mind began to settle, yet a single flickering ember remained at the back of her thoughts. "Cursed.." she muttered angrily, raising the tome with her magic. A thick and icy ward formed within, and then without the book. "Begone from here." She angrily intoned as the tome was launched out the window and into the sky.
Rennala intended it to be burdened to the stars. Her magic had surely the force and power, so she quickly let go of concern and turned away from the window as she smiled at the drawing once more. A little twitch of her fingers removed the crinkles her grip had caused. "Phew.. salvaged.." smiling as she walked to the front most candle altar by the door.
"Here," she mumbled as she sealed the drawing to it with a little twist of her fingers. Floating just off the pillar and illuminated safely, she smiled. Now, all would see her little princess's art as they came to learn from her beloved books.
Her eye ever so briefly flickered for a moment with an amber glow, but the moon queen remained unaware as she turned and sought to find her husband. She felt rather tired all of a sudden, and Ranni would surely find fun with Blaidd once he finished howling over her drawing. She just hoped the sound seals inside the library would keep the librarians and teachers from being disturbed.
She heard his voice as she descended the elevator. "Renna?" Looking up and smiling as she saw the fiery locks of her husband, Radagan. Tied back in a bun, a few stray hairs always lined his strong face. He was powerful even for a man with broad shoulders and arms that felt like nestling beside a fire to be in. He absolutely refused to wear a shirt as well, much to the moon queen's delight.
"I was just making sure Ranni didn't get up to too much trouble." He was a bit silly with how he worried over her at times. She was a powerful mage, but his fretting face and pouting were far too precious for her to ever stop.
His shoulders relaxed, and the hand that was rested on his sword hilt moved. "Good. Good..." he took her hand gently, giving it a light kiss on her ring finger. "I just worry. We live in... dangerous times." His voice was deep and trembled with emotion that were more honest than his words.
"I am just fine," touching his cheek, before pressing her forehead against his, "but if you are so bereft with concern, might you accompany to bed? I grow tired at this dark and daaangerous hour." She playfully teased and earned a grumble.
"Yes, of course," he answered as he wrapped an arm around her waist, "I could never leave you wanting." Gently squeezing with a loving sigh. She breathed a little easier, and her hands rested against his chest for a few moments. They could make their way there in a few. The moon queen would handke whatever oddities of tomorrow then. Right now, she reveled in this safeness and love.
"I have you, and I always shall." He gently whispered with a soft rub along her back. She let out a long held in sigh and slowly fell asleep in her beloved's arms.