[pfsb]

[acrookedpath]

The lantern is done. It's a momentous achievement; a culmination of all of Wei Wuxian's work since he first arrived at the inn...

And now it means he doesn't have a project to work on anymore. The agony!

He'll think of one soon enough. In the meantime, he's settled for sketching out an update to the Compass of Evil, whittling away at a block of wood Madam Bar provided him. If he has all the tools of a thousand worlds at his disposal, it should be no trouble at all to fine-tune the instrument.

Comments

[acrookedpath]

He nods, his attention drifting back to the second theorem on the table: another ward, but far simpler, its sigils and bisecting lines aligning with spirit rather than blood.

"I've long hoped it's only -- well, similar to what you experienced," he says. "A displacement of time. I hope whenever they return, it's only been a day or two in Canaan House."

[blue_ajah]

"It is not uncommon," Moiraine says. It is the most hope she can give; she suspects they know the risks, and there is no need for her to be unkind. "So perhaps."

[acrookedpath]

"Perhaps," he echoes with a sigh.

Wei Wuxian examines the theorems for another moment, lost in his thoughts.

Then: "Are these both wards you have placed on the anomaly?"

[blue_ajah]

"They are among them." Moiraine studies Wei Wuxian. His cultivation partner, she notices, has made himself as unobtrusive as possible while he listens, but she has no doubt from his manner and positioning that he would react in an instant to any perceived threat.

"A question, first: how much do you know of the circumstances surrounding that which Harrow mentioned you observed about her?"

It is circumspect enough to express her meaning to one who already knows, but not to reveal which she thinks of as the 'salt water secrets' of Harrow's background and the history of the Ninth.

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian eyes her sidelong. Whatever he sees eases his suspicion; he turns to face her in full.

"I know of the Tomb," he says. "I know of her relationship to it. I also know what her parents did to ensure she would be the greatest necromancer of her generation."

He tips his head toward his husband.

"As does Lan Zhan."

[blue_ajah]

Moiraine studies them both, then nods.

"That ward," she says, indicating the blood ward, "is based on the one around the Tomb. I was able to observe it closely when she took me there. It is much simpler, of course."

[acrookedpath]

"She -- "

He stares.

"How?"

[blue_ajah]

"Through a Gateway," Moiraine replies. "It is among the weaves known to Aes Sedai. You may think of it as creating a similarity between places, then opening a portal between them."

Her manner is serene and even utterly tranquil. "As I have mentioned before, Harrow and I spent some time working on methods of linking her thanergetic power with what she describes as my thalergetic weaves, which are of the One Power, drawn from the True Source, which is the force of creation itself. We were able to find a way to work together to reach the Ninth from here."

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian breathes out, quick and sharp.

His indignation has caught him off guard: you could do this all along? And after he gave her a teleporting talisman! But he should know by now: Moiraine will never speak a word of what she can do unless she deems it relevant.

(That is not even touching her work with Harrow. He had forgotten its specifics; he wonders, now, about its difficulty, its possibility for replication --

It's been a while since he has missed his friend quite this fiercely.)

With effort, he wrenches his thoughts back around to the blood ward, forcing himself to study it again.

[lightamidchaos]

He can read Wei Ying’s annoyance as clear as calligraphy. Lan Wangji places one hand against his back in silent support, then shoots a sharp look at Moiraine as she asks,

“Does this bother you?”

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian ignores her. Instead, he slants a tiny smile Lan Zhan's way -- I'm all right -- before returning to the ward.

"Even simplified," he says, "this is based on a ward strong enough to keep the Tomb closed for centuries. If it can only hold back the anomaly for a few weeks..."

[blue_ajah]

"Ah," Moiraine murmurs, watching him, "but the Ninth's ward is powered by the entirety of Drearburh."

[acrookedpath]

"True," he mutters. Carefully, he traces the lines of the ward, as if committing a talisman sketch to memory. "If there were a way to power it with less, but regenerate its power more frequently, it might work."

[blue_ajah]

She considers them both, these two who are so alike and so different in their way, whose partnership is as clear as that between any Warder and Aes Sedai has ever been.

"Is that a skill you have?"

[acrookedpath]

"I don't know." Still abstracted. "If spiritual energy could be drawn from the land and amplified, without depleting the land itself -- possibly. But it would not be indefinite."

He tilts his head, a sudden spark lighting his eye as the idea strikes.

"If resentful energy could be fueled into the ward from the anomaly itself, on the other hand..."

[blue_ajah]

Moiraine frowns slightly. "Would not such a thing give that within the Lodge access to control of the ward?"

[acrookedpath]

"Not necessarily." He spins toward Moiraine, starting to grin in spite of himself. "Spirits can be compelled -- resentful spirits even more so, because they respond so strongly to the most base emotions. If it could be tricked into feeding the ward, it could also be forced to continue feeding it, until such a point that it's too weak to resist at all, yes? Trapped in a loop of its own demise!"

[blue_ajah]

"I did not realize that," the Aes Sedai murmurs. "What would happen after it became too weak to continue to exist?"

She glances at Lan Wangji to see what he makes of this, only to find him watching Wei Wuxian with silent intensity to his gaze.

[acrookedpath]

"It might vanish on its own. Or it might still need formal elimination, which will be much easier with poisoned roots."

Wei Wuxian is practically vibrating with delight. A solution to the puzzle!

[blue_ajah]

The Aes Sedai nods.

"And if it is too strong to be compelled so?"

[acrookedpath]

"Well, then we will find a way to weaken it. Or think of another solution!"

Now that he's on a roll, he sounds entirely unbothered by either possibility.

[blue_ajah]

"I see." In contrast, she sounds thoughtful, her words weighted.

"We must be certain, Wei Wuxian. If we draw this entity from the pool and fail to contain it, the consequences may be dire indeed."

[acrookedpath]

That squashes a little of his good mood; he wrinkles his nose, briefly, before loosing another sigh.

"Moiraine, I have no intention of making the situation worse," he says. "I'll be able to judge the strength of the anomaly without freeing it -- well before we begin our work in earnest. It is not a difficult thing."

[blue_ajah]

"I understand that you do not," she returns, unruffled by his annoyance. "I ask because to test the strength of a spirit or demon directly, such as that one, is not a skill that I myself have, precisely."

Without missing a beat or changing her tone at all, she concludes, "And I was not successful when I confronted him the first time. I would not wish to fail again."

[acrookedpath]

There's a flash of surprise -- you confronted him? -- before he remembers: yes, she mentioned she'd met a person who had been possessed by the entity from the Black Lodge.

Wei Wuxian nods. "This would be more like observing a beast from afar," he says, "until we know we can overpower it. Not wrestling a tiger as soon as it appears. And if it's as strong and malevolent as it sounds, it may even be possible to siphon small amounts of resentful energy without it even noticing. Like one of us would ignore a single hair fallen from our heads."