Christina in The Glade

(original 2002, wip compilation 2023)

OF RINGS AND RUBIES

Christina stood slaving over her forge, deep in the forests of Yew. Tirelessly, she crafted the small pieces of jewellery.
After some time, she held them up one by one. Each was a perfect likeness of the others, a light almost weightless iron, tightly woven together to form the necklace. A small red ruby set in each of them began to glow faintly as she removed her glove and revealed a beautifully made golden ring.

Christina rubbed it softly, the ring, possessing its own ruby, and engraved in ancient runes glowed brightly in the presence of the necklaces.
She smiled softly to herself and began a murmuring chant, moving her hands around the necklaces as though weaving oversized ropes.

Completing the spell with a short laugh, Christina placed all but one of the necklaces in her pack. The other necklace she held, moving towards her unconscious, drow victim. "Wake up now..." She threw her voice throughout his sleeping mind.
The drow sargtlin awoke, startled, blood still dripping from the wounds in his neck. "Put this on", she handed him the necklace once again throwing her voice in to his mind. Weak from his wounds, the drow warrior reluctantly placed the jewellery around his neck and fastened it. "You know your mission, drow." She drowned his mind with images and whispers of descruction and murder. "Drink of this" she sprinkled a fine black
powder in to a blood filled goblet and handed it to him. He drank, and felt refreshed. "Now...run along, do you what you must" The ruby on his necklace shon brightly as she flashed her ring in its presence. The drow turned and burst through the door, breaking in to a run, in the direction of Tel'Ruid, the images Christina left in his mind flashing back and forth accompanied by her cruel voice, commanding him to kill.

AN ESCAPE

Christina sniffed the air Mmm She thought.
Leave they tell me, so I do...and now they follow me? Sighing, she turned just as her ever present if not annoying companion Jenn was joining her.

"They follow, look" Christina pointed to the woods from where the more frustrating of the locals were emerging.
The usual talk commenced soon after their appearance. They talked long about how Christina should leave, and that she would be slain if she did not. Still however, not a single attack was made upon her.

She pondered again Interesting folk, many words, yet dull blades.

Christina glanced to her left after hearing one of the Elves mumble something, she had thought a little too soon, and was suddenly face to face with a magical blade bearing down upon her.

The deep shoulder wound stained the grass a deep red, as the rabbit girl stood frozen with fear. What had happened to her friend? "Christina!" Came the exclamation. Jenn, dumbfounded and not entirely sure of what to do, looked to Christina. Feeling weak, outnumbered and at a clear disadvantage, Christina panicked - a rare move for someone of her experience - she whispered looking down at Jenn. "Jenn, Go. Now." As her poor attempt at composure dissolved the Elves continuing to encircle her position, Christina decided to either live on, or forever leave this world. She made a brief incantation with her hand and touching the closest Elf, Thranduil, she spoke softly. "Very well, you say leave. I leave now. Farewell." A sudden red glow eminated from within Christina and a silence only surpassed by death followed.

She was gone.

HER HEAD WAS SWIMMING...

...but, it had worked! She could see a mental projection of herself lying upon a stone table. Hmm, this wasn't right...her mind and body should be as one, not split like they now were. Christina thought back to her readings of this plane and attempted something simple. Closing her eyes, she pictured herself standing in front of Thranduil.

Nothing. "Mmm..." She pondered this nothingness for a moment. "This is not right, I should look in to this."
Once again, Christina closed her eyes, this time she pictured herself in her study next to the master ruby. This particular attempt should enable her to exit the ruby's plane, and begin her research as to why her previous attempt did not work. However, as with her mind manipulation attempt on Thranduil, her attempt at exiting the plane did not work either. Sudden pain and images of fire rushed throughout her mind, voices echoed throughout and she felt herself weakening more and more. She decided to try to send a telepathic message to Jenn. However, as she was weak, her control of the message was poor, and it echoed throughout the minds of all wearers of the ruby's. How Jenn did it, she didn't know, but Jenn replied to her, as did another voice. A drow priestess. Suddenly it hit her, a drow warrior wouldn't have the power to act as a magical conduit. However, a priestess may. Christina opened her mind to the priestess and pictured herself standing beside her, moments later, she was back. Standing alongside the drow. "Much better..." She spoke aloud, as Thranduil came crashing through the trees, launching an arrow towards the two figures.

A quick battle followed, the priestess being slain and Christina fleeing the scene, her body and mind weak from the earlier episode.
Pain and images of fire flooded her mind once again, Christina's mind was trapped.
Half of her was in this reality, the other, stuck in the plane of the rubies. She fed, and her mind was relieved of the pain, yet... still trapped. She sent forth her followers, in search of one who could aid her. She hated to have to admit it, but...Christina needed help.