Act 23.
Rituals:
There are many references to rituals of all sorts in the Queen’s Champion documents.
In this section of the book I have compiled all the different rituals found in the writings.
This will allow the reader to better understand the societies that live in this realm...
Tsuchi Ken:
The ritual of Earth Bonding, is performed by the eastern mages as a way of strengthening the link between themselves and the Earth Mother (the equivalent of Gaia in our society), from whom all the power they possess and wield derives.
It is usually performed around the summer solstice, when it was believed the earth was fully awake and most open to the mages.
Though both the western and eastern mages believe the earth is the source of their powers, only the eastern mages have kept the ritual and Earth Goddess concept alive.
Though the Earth Goddess is still in the western Pantheon, the western mages took a more practical approach to explaining and studying the magic around them.
Queen’s Champion: Rituals Index. PP. 856.
She stood waist deep in the water, the sun glistening off her skin as she stood there arms outstretched facing the ball of light at its zenith in the sky.
She had performed this ritual many times before.
But the others talked of the feelings of warmth and closeness they felt with the Mother.
She had never felt that way.
The rituals always left her cold.
She felt the strength that the ritual was supposed to bring, but none of the others’s experiences were her’s.
She never felt the touch of the Mother.
She worried she had done something to deserve this reaction from the Goddess and prayed that one day she would know what it was and seek Her forgiveness.
So she stayed true to the teachings and followed all the rituals hoping to find her mistake.
When she was told by the court reader that she was to come here to these lands and seek out the Queen and her Champion, she hopped that this was where her answers would lie.
Maybe the Goddess was finally going to forgive her.
But it had been nearly a year now, since her arrival, and nothing had changed.
Not to say she had not been enriched in other ways.
She had made new friends. Become a trusted adviser to a young Queen, who sometimes was asked too much for someone her age.
She was loved and she loved back.
But she still had no answers.
She finished her prayers and felt the strengthening but little else.
She sighed and turned to the young woman who watched her from the shore of the lake.
The Queen watched Mikako as she performed her ritual.
The courtiers would be a little miffed at her for abandoning them today, but she did not care.
Mikako had come to her asking if she would be there for her during this time.
"I want someone I trust, and care for, to witness." she had told her. "You have great strength and power about you. I would be honoured if you would do this for me."
The Queen was more than happy to have been asked.
So the next day they walked to the lake that was on the castle grounds.
"I was born on the day of the fish." Mikako had told her.
"When I became a mage, my teachers felt that I should perform the Tsuchi Ken surrounded by water."
"Did it help?" she had asked.
"A little." was all Mikako said.
The Queen was unsure but she had thought she heard a note of sadness in Mikako’s voice.
They had arrived at the shores of the lake and Mikako began to undress.
The Queen had not realised that this would be the case, though in retrospect she should have thought of it, and was unsure what to do.
Mikako seemed unaware of the Queen’s uncertainty as she spoke to her.
"You stay here on the shore and bear witness as I go through the ritual. You may feel something as I will call on your strength through our bond of friendship. It is what keeps me grounded to this plane."
"What if one were to do this without anyone to witness?" She had asked the mage.
"Their spirit could be lost to the earth." was the answer.
The Queen had watched as Mikako waded out into the water, anointing her whole body with it, and whispering prayers in a soft voice.
During the ceremony The Queen had felt a tug deep within her. She did not feel afraid of it, but actually felt uplifted by it.
At one point she had thought she had seen a glow emanate from the mage, but put it down to the sun glinting off the water that beaded on her skin.
Now the ritual was done and Mikako was walking out of the water towards her.
"Thank you for accompanying me, my Queen.." said Mikako.
"Thank you for including me." said the Queen.
Mikako dried herself off and dressed in her usual garb.
The Queen took the mage’s arm in her’s and smiled up at her..
"Come on." she said. "We better be getting back. My counsellors are probably quite peeked at my skipping out this morning."
"I did not mean to start any animosity between you and them." said Mikako with a slight frown.
The Queen laughed.
"Don’t worry about it." she said. "They need a good shaking up every once in a while. Sometimes they forget who is really in charge around here. All right?"
"Yes my Queen." said Mikako.
They started out towards the castle through the small clump of trees that blocked off the lake from view.
They emerged onto the immense lawn, dotted with fountains and statuary, that could be found at the back of the Queen’s home.
The first time Mikako had set eyes on the castle, she could barely believe her eyes.
She had heard stories of the large habitats found throughout these lands, but where she had come from, there were very few large dwellings, and none the size of this one.
Some of the staff were working outside and looked up as they came closer.
Suddenly there could be heard cries, as some of them pointed to something behind the pair.
The two women turned to see what had gotten everyone’s attention.
Coming over the trees came a cloud into which light seemed to be falling.
Before they could do anything the cloud overcame them and disappeared.
The Queen and her mage were gone.