Matriarch - Prayer: Sisters

The three empyrians gracefully flew down to the floor of the crystal cavern. They were met with glares and angry murmurs. No one approached them, but it was clear there was tension in the air. Cheiro and Kaimana let the stares and words roll off their back, but their younger sister, Furor, had a bit more trouble letting go of the guilt that grew in her chest. The emotion hardened like a rock and sank deep into her ribcage, making her very uncomfortable. 

“Can we do something to right this?” Furor whispered. 

Kaimana rolled her eyes, but in doing so she spied an altar. So she said, “We could offer a prayer.”

Kaimana’s suggestion was partly a joke, but she also knew it wouldn’t be as physically exhausting as digging. Cheiro followed Kaimana’s gaze to an altar clearly dedicated to Oris. The rock surface was decorated with red candles and gold accents. It was hard to imagine the red and gold features could be for any god other than the bull crudely drawn into the wall above the altar. 

Furor straightened at the idea. It wouldn’t be something that would show their support in a visible way, as she had truly hoped, but it would do. She nodded her agreement. Cheiro watched her little sister and wanted to laugh at her need to appease the reoseans around them. She looked forward to the time when Furor would be older and lose that little character trait. It happened with her and it happened with Kaimana, she could only assume it would happen to Furor, too. 

Kaimana and Furor moved closer to the altar, pulling Cheiro from her thoughts. The three empyrians formed a semicircle in front of the red-decorated altar. They each looked at the black lines that made up the depiction of Oris, taking their time to formulate their prayers. 

Furor was the first to close her eyes. She didn’t lower her head; she only kept it level. Her thoughts swirled around her, re-creating the crystal cavern in her head. Her magic weaved around the crystals as she offered her prayer. She asked Oris to help, the chaos whispered in the back of her mind as she tried to communicate her prayer calmly. 

Kaimana was the next sister to offer her prayer. She lowered her head and focused on the dirt and debris by her feet. She didn’t close her eyes, but she let her magic weave in front of her. Ribbons of runes spelled out her offering to Oris and her prayer to the void to free the Matriarch. When her runes dissolved into the air, Kaimana closed her eyes. She envisioned the roof of the cave being pulled away in a move of chaos, the ground exploding and debris flying everywhere with reoseans scattering for safety. A cruel smile pulled at her face while she let the scene play out in her head. 

Cheiro watched Furor first, her youngest sister gently offering her thoughts. Then, she moved her gaze to Kaimana. The smile on her middle sister’s face said it all, and Cheiro knew exactly what she was thinking. A matching dark smile crossed Cheiro’s face as she finally closed her eyes and offered her chaotic thoughts to Oris. 

Cheiro imagined the Matriarch gaining a burst of strength and freeing herself from the rocks and crystals. The monstrous haedian matriarch rips herself from the earth, sending massive pieces of rubble everywhere. In Cheiro’s head, the result of this was nothing but chaos. The earth rumbled and groaned at the loss of the Matriarch and the reoseans were caught between standing in wonder and running for protection. This was her prayer to Oris, a visual wish of what she imagined to come. 

The three sisters opened their eyes and looked at each other. They each felt satisfied with their prayers. Kaimana and Cheiro shared a look that spoke of the destruction they prayed for. Furor caught the looks, but she wasn’t put off. The chaotic thoughts in her head preened, content that someone was able to envision something worthy of Oris that Furor couldn’t. She just wasn’t there yet. 

“Where to next?” Cheiro asked, directing the question to Furor. 

Kaimana turned to Furor too as the pair waited for an answer. 

“If you guys don’t want to dig, maybe we can help bring the Matriarch comfort or look for other reoseans that would want to dig,” Furor offered. 

Furor’s older sisters considered her words and then agreed. That is exactly what they would do. Kaimana was all too happy to pass the grunt work off to someone else and Cheiro was interested in approaching the Matriarch, curious about the massive creature buried in the wall. The three discussed what to do first, but eventually it was decided to go help take care of the Matriarch. 

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