Light
#1 of Twilight of the Alari
Here's the first part of a list of stories, which describe Velaala's origins, which also means most of the more fun bits are in the next parts! This is more of a introduction to the setting, we don't see any of Vela just yet. She'll be there in the next part, however!
NOTE : The following chapters are flagged as mature. I'm pretty sure an account is needed to see them.
"It's not going to hold! We have to stop it, now!"
"There's no turning back at this point! We're past the point of no return, if we fail here, nobody will make it out alive, not a single person!"
The ground shook from the massive surge of released energies. The crystal could no longer serve as the sole focal point for all that spiritual power. It was going out of control.
"What are you doing?! Get out of there! You'll never make it out in time!"
She didn't listen. The Vela'Alari had to continue, failure would mean certain doom for all her people. This had all been possible because of her in the first place; the burden fell on her to make it happen, no matter the cost.
And so, she leapt directly into the swirling maelstrom of light, which immediately enveloped her entire body in a blinding flash of chaotic energy.
Vela'Alari would come, no matter the cost.
"Are you sure this is going to work? We can't allow a single error for an event as complicated at this one, Neiame, as I'm sure you know."
She sighed and nodded slowly. She had spent decades working to make this day happen; she would be ready for it.
"Continue the preparations. I've already sent all the emissaries, and received approval from the primes all over the world. Everyone will be ready. Have you gathered all the necessary materials?"
The red-skinned man nodded respectfully, motioning to some glowing runes on the ground.
"This is all we need, isn't it? I've already sent the acolytes to prepare the area for the ritual, if all goes well, everything should be in order by tomorrow, which should give us plenty of time to prepare further."
"Excellent. Go warn Ellicia, and tell her to start the communion. For this to happen, everything must be tuned correctly."
She smiled calmly as she looked over the runes, tracing her finger beneath those already present, and adding a new series of markings.
"Make sure you don't forget the focusing crystal, Caeil. I'll see you again soon."
The man bowed respectfully and left the room, leaving her to her own thoughts. What if it were to go wrong? The Vela'Alari had never been attempted before. Similar rituals had been performed previously, she had even participated in some herself, and even led some others, but none nearly as encompassing as this one. This was the ultimate ritual for her people, if the summoning was to be unsuccessful, not one soul would make it through, and her people would surely go extinct, and risk being utterly erased from existence.
She shook her head and stepped outside to clear her thoughts. She would go through this to the end. She was High Priestess of the Alari people; she held the utmost responsibility in this matter. Her claws dug into the ground as she walked, absent-mindedly brushing her white hair out of her face. She smiled at the passing people as she went on her way, not a single altercation to be seen in the bustling streets of the city. She sat at a bench near the temple's park, taking a moment to reflect on what she was putting at risk.
The Alari were quite a strange people. They were similar in shape to Earth's humans, while being extremely different. Neiame's own skin was a dark, purplish blue, a colour which was not uncommon for her people, whose skin tones could range from darkest blue of the sky to the hottest colours as those of their twin orange and yellow suns. This same variance of colour could be seen in her people's hair, though like humans, this colour generally faded with age.
Anatomically, the Alari were very similar to humans, with hairless bodies, hands, etc., but with a very great sexual dimorphism. While the women were generally more feline in appearance, with clawed feet and a thick, bushy tail, the men were more goat-like, with hooves instead of feet, a pair of horns on their foreheads, and a thick yet hairless tail. While Neiame's own claws were rather small and unintimidating, she had always been quite proud of her tail, especially in her youth, as the largest tails were considered a symbol of beauty among women.
Unlike humans, and many other races, however, the Alari were a very peaceful people. While very simple on a technological level, their spiritual strength was one of the most advanced. The rituals she had taken part in, as well as the one about to come, depended on this spiritual energy. It was a sharing of minds, somewhat of a mental union of two or more people as one. This served to bolster the spiritual power expended, potentially using an extremely vast amount of energy.
However, this did not mean that the Alari shared a hive mind of sorts. Unlike humans, the Alari had minds which functioned on many levels. More specifically, this meant that one individual could take part in a communion ritual, sharing their mind with others, while each also retains control of their own individual mind. Similar to telepathy, this meant the possibility of communicating through the power of the mind, while also creating a potential for powerful rituals.
Such was the case of the Vela'Alari. This ritual required extremely vast energies, so that the entire Alari people had to participate, from the withering elder to the newborn child. The complications weren't in the logistics of the operation; the results of this ritual were of a nature that no Alari could refuse. The problem was found very precise tuning that was necessary for such a large population participating in the same communal ritual.
Neiame sighed as she thought this over once more. Was it plausible? Could an entire people, thousands of individuals, beat their hearts in unison, even for such a short time? Would the result be worth it?
She resumed walking, trying to cast the doubts from her mind.