Krahe’s anger didn’t abate; that she understood why Barzai had done what he had done didn’t change anything. She resolved to punish the demonic bird by refusing him any meat for a month. The mere thought of this was enough to cause the ball of Black Bindings containing the spirit to writhe and to emit anguished cawing. Juno and the Red Hood guarding her remained where they stood, observing, the girl obviously trying not to draw attention to herself despite the fact she was the reason they were all here today.
Hair floating, eyes glowing, unearthly tones ringing from the Black Trapezohedron, Yazata glared Krahe’s way, not in anger, but in effort, warning: “This will work once, and only once. You have twelve minutes, fifty-seven seconds. Fifty-six…”
Krahe wasted no time in pulling her supplies out of storage. The Unguent of Nug-soth, the relevant talismans, and the papers for those she had not drawn yet. She began with drawing out the angle-web’s framework, and found the ritual chamber answering her every need. In place of the talismans she would have needed to put in place, the ground shifted. Relics and statues rose in their place, each exuding such a pluripotent form of its arcane energy that it felt almost pointless to attempt recreation through mere ink and paper.
Of course the churches would have such resources — an obscure ritual was one thing, but this was eidolon evolution. The fundamentals of the rite weren’t obscure and unknown. Sure, the angle-web she was using wasn’t widely known, but it made use of the same principles as its common counterparts.
Technically, an eidolon evolution could just be allowed to take place on its own and cause no issues, but this was true in the same way as the statement that one could go fishing with no bait and still catch something. The purpose of the ritual was to better contain the energies involved and steer the process, and even a half-baked ritual would consistently result in an overwhelmingly superior result. The problem that arose, then, was that Krahe had not actually finished the ritual, meaning she would have to just make up the rest of it on the spot. If nothing else, at least she had the Six Maxims to draw upon.
“Three Virtues, Five Bindings, Seven Vertebral Truths…”
The angle-web continued to take shape, and with it, the ritual chamber shifted further and further. Krahe had never intended to push Barzai towards a great change, but to reinforce the form he had already taken, the most orthodox of approaches to eidolon evolution. The definition of that form was not necessarily that of a bird, but a form capable of flight, remote observation, and skirmish combat. Krahe added precisely one thing: The ability to manipulate tools as a human does. As she worked, she scattered the four souldreg-gems across the angle-web’s most vital points, and automata-statues arose to take hold of them. The most important, difficult, and time-consuming aspect of the ritual preparations came next: It was the blending of Semzar’s souldregs with the Unguent of Nug-soth, a substantial quantity of Krahe’s own blood, and, as a result of a gut-call, the dust of Aldritch, Ogura, Radanov, and Hegio. The ritual chamber provided a basin for the purpose, one that was mechanized and integrated with a cognition engine and a keyboard. She merely had to type in “unguent medium” and was instantly met with a variety of choices, all of such a high grade that she had only ever read about them — despite her attempts to source them, and despite the fact she could get the money together, most merchants simply didn’t carry these particular unguent-mediums. A few keystrokes and the basin filled itself with exactly as much medium as she needed.
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It only took a few moments of bubbling as the basin’s auto-stirrer incorporated all the ingredients. The resulting compound unguent had a colour darker than blood and was streaked through with shades of abyssal blue. Its quantity seemed excessive, and yet, as she painted the angle-web, it became increasingly more evident that she had exactly as much as she needed to complete it. Krahe finished the angle-web with one minute and forty-three seconds to spare.
Only the ritual proper was left. Normally, a dagger or sword would be used as the ritual implement, representing power, but a gun was also suitable, and the ritual implement’s durability mattered the most above all other characteristics — it had to be an item that could withstand the energies of the ritual. Therefore, Krahe’s Pattner was the best for this purpose.
With gun in hand, she walked through the angle-web, reciting an incantation:
“There is naught to be said that has not already been said, there is naught to be changed that has not already been changed, we shall continue along our chosen bearing until the end of all ends, om Igaria sowaka. I am the Lord of Spirits, Oridimbai, Sonadir, Episghes. I am Ubaste, Ptho born of Binui Sphe, Phas. I am the name of Aue-bothia-bathaba-itho-behostra, I am the sun in the yawning abyss, I am the sight of the blinded eye, I am the small that slaughters the immense and the torch-bearer who walks amid a myriad dark ones, I am all that has been and shall be, all that has not been and all that cannot be. Come unto me, o spirit, reveal thyself and become the hand of my soul, make of yourself that which you ought to be, make thyself known, follow the path laid out for you, and render unto me thy apotheosis, o servant!”
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