Summoning A New Friend

Raine makes her way to the outskirts for the Daring Heights, where the rolling hills of the countryside are beautifully illuminated by the light of the full moon that hangs above. Its light is unhindered by any clouds in the sky. The stars dance and twinkle in the cold night, creating enchanting and ancient formations for travellers in the night to gaze up and admire.

Raine finds a spot that she feels particularly comfortable with on top of a hill. She sets down a blanket on the damp grass and begins setting out several materials. Seven candles are spaced around her and lit, stones each from a different shore of a different river with runes of Sylvan painted on them, placed between each of the candles. Within the circle Raine places a variety of beautiful feathers from different birds. Finally, she places stems of oat plants still with their buds attached and she sprinkles petals of different species of Phlox flowers.

Once she is finished she has formed around her a magic circle with enough space in the centre for her to stand and dance if she feels like it. Raine then pulls out the gift from her patron, Merla’s songbook, she flips through the book until she finds the new song that revealed itself only days ago and places it on the ground at her feet. She scans the music once again even though she has done it hundred times already and then pulls the Viol of the Seasons off her back and stands up.

She takes a deep breath and begins the ritual.

'S tric mi sealltainn on chnoc as àirde

Gach àit' an téid thu

Raine’s voice is clear, held aloft by the steady strings of the magical instrument and the power it possesses. The air rings like crystal, vibrating with a resonance that brings the Viol’s summer state to the ground and air surrounding her. The temperature warms, the grass gets a little more verdant, whilst the moon and stars seem to focus in on her circle of summoning.

Even as she lifts her bow the music lingers, swirling in a gathering wind that lifts her glowing, star dusted hair. Riane closes her eyes, letting both wind and music move her to form shapes and stances that reflect the non-lexical vocals she sings into the night. Unbeknownst to her, the sky begins to come alive with dancing ribbons of teals, turquoise, and blues. Wherever she bends, the ribbons bend with her. Whenever she twists, the lights curl and spring.


When Raine opens her eyes she sees the wonder of the aurora dancing overhead. Such a sight would render many speechless. To see the full breadth of the heavens overhead whilst you are so small… But to her, all she sees is what could be: Creation, potential, initiation.

Pressing the bow back to the Viol, Raine calls out to the ribbons of light dancing overhead. They twitch, curl, and then begin to unravel. As her music swells, a second voice joins hers, harmonising with her song. Like water the light pours from the sky, falling into her ritual circle to surround her on all sides, making the hilltop a beacon of refracted light from the heavens. The world grows brighter, and a face momentarily takes shape, familiar yet not, and then everything shatters.

Raine breathes heavily as the performance comes to an end, her breath appearing like silver mist illuminated by the moonlight. She looks around desperately for another glimpse of the shape she just saw until it forces her to call out.

“Please! Whoever you are, I need your help.” But there is no response. “Did I do something wrong? Please let me know what I have to do!”

As Raine waits, over hill and beyond the dale a ripple of turquoise blue light shimmers. She turns quickly in that direction but there is nothing on the ground.

She takes a deep breath and tries to concentrate.
Holding the Viol of the Seasons tightly in her hands, Raine attempts to find the threads of Creation she heard before and once more begins to sing. This time, however, she sings with her own power, the Song of Creation. Holding the image of the shape she saw a moment ago, she sings, willing that shape into existence.

The aurora overhead surges, bursting into brighter lights. More ribbons, in a greater variety of colour than she saw before, dance above her. As before, they stream down from the heavens except this time, they stop fifteen feet from the ground in a twelve pointed constellation.

Branching antlers ripple with nebulous light, coming down towards a noble face whose eyes hold the glow of starlight within them. A mane of warm, golden light fans out behind its head and down its scaled neck, back from its chest and from the points of the creature’s forelegs and back hooves. The creature, majestic and shining, floats above Raine, elegant cloven hooves curled up underneath it like it rests on something invisible to her eye. Its golden oat coloured tail whips back and forth once, twice, before curling around it.


The ki-rin looks down at itself, examining its form. “Hmm…” she intones. Raine realises she hears the creature’s voice clear as crystal in her head.
Stunned Raine stares at this incredible creature that floats above her. After perhaps a little too long, Raine bows to the Ki-rin as if she is bowing before royalty.

Speaking in her mind she addresses the being before her. “I am honoured that one as magnificent and awe inspiring as yourself would grace one as myself with answering my call. I am eternally grateful.

“I do hope that your form is to your liking. I’ve never attempted to give something as yourself a form. If it helps I think you look radiant, regal and resplendent, as I think any such as yourself should always appear as.”

The ki-rin studies Raine. The praise seems to go over well. “This form you Created for me is… quite nice.” They take another look at their form, doing a somersault as they go. For a moment, their scaled form ripples like the aurora above before solidifying again into a more corporeal form.

To her surprise, the ki-rin flies right up close to Raine, her elegant face mere centimetres from the half-elf’s. “My name is Lykiri. What is yours, singer of the Song?”

Raine’s jerks back reflexively at the sudden proximity of the ki-rin but she does her best to keep her composure and smiles at the beautiful creature.

“I am glad that you are happy with this body, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lykiri. As for myself I am Raine Carroway, the Second Warlock of Queen Merla and the Wielder of The Viol Of The Seasons.”

“A warlock of the Slumbering Queen. How interesting.” Lykiri begins to circle around Raine, looking her over, as if assessing more than just her dress. “You sounded distressed before. You declared you need my help.” She has come back around, still not once touching the ground, always floating and flying at least five feet above the hill. “Is this why you called me?”

“As you seem to know, My Queen is unfortunately afflicted with an ailment that leaves her in a deep slumber. Myself and my fellow warlock, Yinmaris, are attempting to procure materials for a ritual we believe will awaken our Queen.

“In this endeavour we need all the help that we can muster but it’s not only that… This spell that I used, it just appeared one night in my Queen’s songbook that she gifted to me. She gave me this ritual, therefore she must know that I needed it. My Queen has a mighty steed of her own who helped her through her toughest trails. Perhaps she gave me this to summon one as magnificent as you to help me through mine.”

“Mmm,” Lykiri intones again. Raine was beginning to suspect that the ki-rin would be doing that a lot if this arrangement is going forward.

“Your loyalty to your Queen is admirable, Raine. I could hear your love for her when you called me down from my dancing in the heavens. But I want to know about you.” Lykiri flips over in the air, her antlers passing millimetres above the still summer-like grass as she stays there, turned upside down and studying Raine’s face. “What are some of your greatest treasures?”

Raine is puzzled by this last question and she’s not one hundred percent sure if Lykiri is being serious, until some part of her brain pulls forth a passage in a book she read a while ago about ki-rin’s. They have a deep interest in treasures. Whilst not collecting for a hoard like dragons do, ki-rin enjoy great trophies and trinkets both the divine and mundane as long as it holds a great story. As this thought finishes, Raine quickly rummages in her pockets, pouches, and pack, looking for any such items that satisfy the question asked.

“Well I guess I have the greatest treasures, the first,” she says as she picks up the Songbook still on the ground and presents it to Lykiri. “This is the songbook that Queen Merla gave to me. It is the symbol of our Pact together and the tie that binds me to Her Majesty. But more than that, it is my greatest source of confidence. Ever since I gained it, I have found myself almost shedding the timid, limelight fearing farmgirl I used to be and becoming someone who… erm… who-…well, would stand up to Queen Titania and tell her she was wrong. With this book by my side, I know I can take on whatever is thrown at me.”

Raine places the book back in its holster on her waist and then reaches for the viol at her side. “This is the Viol Of The Season. It was given to me by the people of the Court of Harmony for my work I had done helping them to explore the Temple of Seasons. It is a powerful artefact that I have only begun to unlock its full potential. But beyond that, and beyond the fact that with this Viol I can cast powerful magic and perform miracles few others are capable of, it is a symbol of Harmony. It is the very symbol of My Queen and Court. And it is the reason that I fight as hard as I do to bring Harmony to the Feywild. It is unity between the Seasonal Courts and I hope by using it, I can help My Queen bring The Harmony to all who need to hear it.”
Raine places the Viol on her back once again and then stops as she seems to be contemplating her next words. Then she removes the scarf around her neck. It glitters like it is made of stars itself, and has a very faint but beautiful glow to it as she holds it up for Lykiri to inspect.

“This is my most important treasure though, I think. This is the first item I ever Created once I learned how to harness the Song. Most of the items I create last for a few hours. I don’t possess the knowledge for how to keep them from returning to the dust I make them from. But this… this singular scarf has endured. As of yet, it has never faded or waned in its form. The glow has never diminished and its surface has never known a graze, mark or stain. I have no idea what I did, what I sang differently, or what intention I had behind it that made it so, but this is what started my journey. This is the reason I came to this continent. The reason I came to Daring Heights. Why I enrolled at the Feylight Garden Theatre and found a tutor to teach me bard lore… All so that one day I will be able to do this again. An act of pure Creation.” She stops and stares at the scarf, tears beginning to well in her eyes.

“For if I did it once then I should be able to do it again, and if I can’t and it was just some fluke, some chance, just some random accident then… then what is the point of me having this power? What was the point of me being subjected to hearing that Song for so long in my head? What’s… what’s the point of any of this?” Raine drops to her knees before Lykiri, the scarf still held firmly in her grasp as her emotions over take her.

The soft rippling gold and aurora glow coming off Lykiri comes closer to Raine. She feels a light tickling sensation on the top of her head. The half-elf looks up, and for the second time the ki-rin’s face is mere centimetres away from hers. Except this time, Lykiri’s expression is gentler, her eyes half closed.

“I am honoured to have heard the tales of your treasures, and their purpose in your life, Raine Carroway.” Their nose dips down to the scarf. When she exhales, a ripple of borealis light flickers across its starry threads. Lykiri pulls back a little, equally surprised as Raine. She looks up and asks, “Where were you when you sang this scarf into being?”

“Oh, erm, I was just outside my family’s farm. It was about two hours away from Baldur’s Gate, back in Faerun. I guess I had wandered towards the woods of Sharp Teeth but I never entered those woods. But why though? What is it you sense, Lykiri?”

She looks at the scarf for a beat before flying back whimsically and singing, “Just curious, ’tis all!” She lets out a cry of delight at seeing Raine’s face in a companionable sort of way, adding, “I have never been, and I was curious where my partner created her greatest treasure! Perhaps we could return one day and see, together, if there is anything special about this farm you are from.”

Raine gets very excited at this proposal. “Oh yes I’d love to take you to the farm! The family will be so shocked to see you it would be incredible. Plus I haven’t been back in a little while. I write and send letters pretty often but just haven’t had the time to go back.

“As for it being special, well I guess I usually think about it as the most magical place I’ve ever been too. It’s big and beautiful, filled with all kinds of crops and animals. Most people who go there will just see an ordinary farm, but ever since I was a little girl it was always anywhere and everywhere I wanted to go, and wherever my imagination could take me, and I think that’s pretty special.” As she finishes there is a look of reflection on Raine’s face as she quickly flips through the memories that come to her as she thinks of home and smiles a little.

The aurora rippling overhead slows down, matching Lykiri’s movements as she comes back towards Raine. “It takes a special eye to see what others cannot, Raine. There is magic everywhere, even in the mundane.”

There’s a toss of her rippling mane. Then she lands, hooves sighing into the summer grass, and the dancing light overhead disperses.

Lykiri bows her head, “I would see the place your most precious treasure came from. Until then,” she lifts her head and she stands tall, proud, and utterly striking, “perhaps we can find new treasures together, be it helping your Slumbering Queen, or elsewhere.”

“I thank you for your kind words, they mean a great deal to me,” Raine says, bowing before the ki-rin as low and as formally as she can possibly muster in this moment. She holds this bow for a few moments before rising back up again.

“I would be delighted to discover all the wonders that lay in store for us in our coming journeys. I could not have asked for a more beautiful and magnificent companion. And from the depths of my heart, I truly hope that this is the start of a virtuous and harmonious friendship.”