The portal remained active in Mistral's Hallow and so it was an easy task to travel the distance. She found herself on familiar sand in a familiar place, in reality much thicker than in her Hallow. It was easier to exist here.

 All of Mistral's gear had been placed neatly upon the rough wood table Talion had fashioned earlier, as if it had been placed awaiting her return... but there was no sign of anyone else.

 … well, save for Talion. She could feel his energy signature clearly now... and Sal. It was easy to miss him when he was so close to Talion.

An indistinct presence insinuated itself onto the amethyst isle, unseen and unheard but nonetheless felt.  Those with a sense for the arcane might note a shifting hollow in the local resonance, but the rest might only experience a vague sensation of being scrutinized.  At some point, Sal would realize he and Talion weren't alone.

A sourceless woman's voice both familiar (and yet not) spoke in a French accent, "I see that I have been expected..."  An otherworldly figure resolved from nothingness, stepping onto the sand with faint blue threads streaming off her.  She was porcelain-pale and garbed in magnificent robes and a black blindfold, gleaming blue-and-white hair flowing about her as if underwater.

Mistral's placid face turned to regard Talion and Sal, then said, "Bonjour, mes amies.  What have I missed?"  Whatever she was, she was definitely not human.

 Talion turned to appraise Mistral's new ascended form with a genuine smile. "Indeed you have. It's good to see you again."

 Sal had spent the last 3 days with Talion on the island. Talion had busied himself with tasks that needed doing, leaving him to his own devices.

 He produced a case filled with large crimson crystals and presented them to Mistral. "These are the Relics of your Ascension. Use them well."

 She could feel her own sympathetic resonance coming from these crystals... whatever they were had as much sympathy to her as a blood link. They were also tass… and also contained energy that very much matched the resonance of her newfound fatigue.

 However, there were only 9 of them... and there would likely only ever be 9 of them.

Sal smiled, as well. "Glad to have you back," he said. "I'm afraid we're all the welcoming committee you've got. I tried to bake you a cake, but since I can't taste food, I'm hopeless in the kitchen, I'm afraid. Even the synths wouldn't eat it."

Mistral swept a hand over the table upon which her artifacts were arranged, and each of them warped inward upon themselves and then were gone elsewhere.  She then turned toward the open case of blood-red crystals and seemed to examine them despite being blindfolded.  She said to Talion, “I needn’t ask after mon corps, it would seem.  I believe I see the use and necessity of these.  Merci, Talion.”

She inclined her head to Sal and answered, “The gesture is appreciated, but I am also unable to consume food in my present state of being.  To see you both again pleases me sufficiently.”  She then asked, “Where are the others?  I do not sense them in the Fallen World.”

 Almost as if in answer, bursts of confetti came raining down from the ceiling. Talion looked up, holding the small pieces of paper with visible confusion. It seemed that it wasn't his idea.

 "Right... Noah and the others didn't want to sit still while you were in the middle of your awakening so they planned a little trip of their own into one of the Supernal Realms. That was three days ago and Atlas told me Noah smashed the retrieval remote he was given. It seems something went wrong on Nefertiti's quest but they're drawing near the Supernal Hole I made so they'll be home in a few hours it seems. Come."

 Talion led Mistral a bit further into the ship, down into the hospital where she found... herself. It was Mistral's physical body suspended in a tube of liquid. "While I was handling your physical body, I took a sample of your DNA and aged it using Time and Life magic until it had matured to your full age. I had a feeling you'd need this when you came back."

Out of respect for Mistral's modesty, he averted his eyes from the form in the tube. He wasn't sure how much her Ascension changed her, but the Mistral he had known would probably not have wanted him seeing her in such a state.

Mistral’s porcelain-pale features frowned slightly at the mention of the others having taken a voyage to Stygia.  She said evenly, “Je comprends.  I doubt that Noah had sensible reason to destroy the device, but I am certain he will find a way to get them out toutefois.  He always does.  One hopes that la Reine Nefertiti has found what she sought.”

Mistral accompanied Talion to the medical bay where she was intrigued to see a clone of herself floating in a test tube.  She approached the cylindrical tank and seemed to regard the body curiously through the silky blindfold, then said, “A clone.  I had considered my options for obtaining a body, and this one may serve.”  As Mistral considered this curious doppelgänger she spoke off-handedly to Talion, “The Tapestry is in a far worse state than I understood, before.  How do you survive in this realm, mon ami?  I feel as if I must repair the local threads merely to breathe.”

 As Mistral examined the body, she found it to be devoid of mind or soul. The one main difference being that the woman in the tube had chestnut brown hair. However, it was, otherwise, a blank copy of Mistral, ready to occupy.

 Talion nodded. "Indeed it is. I'm sure you've noticed by now that my body is saturated with mana. That's the key. I bring my own magic with me. Think of it like wearing an oxygen mask.

 Once you're acclimated to your new form and piloting a clone body, I'll see if I can't make a place for your primary form in the Observatory's upper floor if you like. You'll find the mana saturation there will make breathing down here a bit easier."


 He appraised Mistral once more and she could see that the smile on his face, perhaps the only genuine smile she'd seen from him outside of his interactions with Emily and the children, had yet to fade. "But, for now, why don't you try your hand at possessing your clone? Note that the transition will be jarring and the sudden jolt back to your body will make you feel like you're drowning. Stay calm while I release you. The body will begin to die if I remove it from the tube before the possession. It is a necessary discomfort."

 As she prepared to possess the clone, Talion turned to Sal. "And, for you I have this. It is a sentient, symbiotic synthetic outfit. It can change to resemble any kind of coat. It can deflect a small amount of small arms fire, pull you to safety, scale sheer surfaces, glide, and even fly if you fall from at least 30ft. However, like all synthetics, it is very vulnerable to fire."

 He handed Sal a bundle of what seemed like leather. It resembled a black trench coat but there were several "separations" along the length of it... almost like a cloak made of strips of leather.

Mistral made note of Talion's unusually good cheer, then replied, "J'ai remarqué.  Mana saturation may prove a more conspicuous solution than is my preference.  Once I am better established, we shall come to a solution."

Having verified that the suspended body was an empty vessel awaiting an occupant, Mistral inclined her head and said, "Very well.  I will undertake whatever difficulties are required to claim this vessel.  I have suffered worse than drowning."  She approached the large, cylindrical tube and placed a porcelain-white hand against the glass.  After a long several moments Mistral announced, "Now."  Her otherworldly form began to discorporate, melting away into a vaguely woman-shaped swirl of white supernal mists with glowing eyes.  The vaporous form swirled about the container, then seeped in through the seams along its upper rim.  Mistral's soul flowed rapidly into the mouth and nostrils of the suspended body until no trace remained.

Seconds passed as Mistral's body remained still, floating in the tube, until...

 Mistral's spiritual form melted into her clone, entering the body through the nose (the mouth had a tube inside) and her physical body immediately awoke. She felt cold, her lungs were filled with fluid, and the tube in her throat was choking her. Her arms and legs ached like they were cramped and the IVs in her arms burned like fire.

Returning to a living body led Mistral to conclude that being alive was rather overrated.  Bodies came with all manner of aches and pains and mortal discomforts that she didn't miss in her perfected spiritual form.  There were upsides to bodies as well, but those came less readily to mind in this particular moment.

In the tank, the floating Mistral clone's eyes shot open in shock and pain.  A brief convulsion coursed through her nude form, but afterward she held in a tense stillness as Talion did his work.  As she scrunched her eyes shut, the chestnut brown hair started glowing at the roots.  The glow slowly coursed down the length of every hair on her body, transforming into silvery-white shading into vivid blue at the tips.

 It took a monumental effort of will but Mistral managed to not thrash around during the time she felt that she was choking and drowning.

 Talion quickly drained the tube and turned it on its side with a hydraulic lift. The whole process took perhaps ten seconds but it felt like hours. He was at her side moments later, removing the tube and the IVs. With four practiced moves, he had her free of all connections and had a blanket wrapped around her body.

 As he helped her out of the tube, she found that her mortal legs would not support her weight. Instead, Talion held her firmly by the waist, supporting her full weight with his arm while he wove a quick spell with his free hand. "Here. This is a Life/Prime spell I call "Puppeteer". It will allow you to move your body using your own Awakened Will. It's been quite useful in my life when the body fails but work still must be done. It will only last 24 hours, but that should be long enough for you to reacquaint yourself with this body."

 The ease and efficiency with which he did this made her feel as if he'd done this very thing many times before. However, she found that she could now manually control her body using her spirit rather than using traditional methods. It felt unwieldly but the magic reinforced muscle and stabilized joints, ensuring that she would not fall unless she wished to.
This message was last updated by the player at 06:55, Wed 21 July 2021.

The process of being removed from the tank was agonizing, but Mistral closed her eyes and focused inward.  She claimed control of her own frame of mind and found calm in the face of difficulty.  When the tube was removed from her throat she coughed and vomited up fluid, and then struggled to take in this body's very first breath.  Her emaciated legs responded poorly to her commands, and proved unequal to supporting her own weight.

That changed when Talion reinforced the frail form and bound its motion directly to Mistral's will.  All at once the shaky struggle came to an end and she stood up straight and breathed easier.  Clutching the blanket about herself, she extended a hand before her and flexed it experimentally.  Mistral's voice croaked as she grappled with disused vocal chords, "La mortalité est surévaluée."

Turning to Talion, Mistral inclined her bedraggled head and said, "I have much work to do to rehabilitate this body to full functionality, but I would regard such a challenge as the privilege to live again.  Merci, Talion.  I am yet further in your debt."

 Once she had regained proper motion, Talion let her go and turned to regard her. "You owe me nothing. I'm the one in your debt. I'm just paying it off as I can. You seem to be getting the hang of things now. I'll let you wash off the nutrient solution and get a change of clothes and we can talk further if you like."

Mistral fell into a contemplative quiet for a long moment, as it hadn't occurred to her that the nearly godlike Talion might feel indebted to her.  Talion had freely given incredible knowledge and resources that had saved her life on many occasions, and propelled her beyond most living mages in a very short time.  Then again, she had assisted in rescuing his children, as well as his paramour Dr. Lennis on more than one occasion.  That made sense, although she'd received such tremendous assistance from Talion throughout that she it seemed wrong to take full credit.

At last she nodded and said, "D'accord.  I will return."  With that, Mistral hobbled toward the nearest amethyst wall, rounded a corner and disappeared from view.  Except, there was no corner in the plainly solid wall.  Such were the oddities of a space mage's sanctum.  Mistral emerged in the multi-spatial sanctum she called 'the Prism', where she shrugged out of the blanket and started a hot bath.  She lingered in the bath longer than she needed to, but found that it was much-needed.  This rather improved the case for a living body.

Within an hour she rejoined Talion and Sal wearing a hoodie and clothing that had fitted her perfectly before, but now hung loosely on this new, gaunt frame.  She began to walk, and invited Talion (and Sal, if he was present) to join her.  She quite evidently wanted to walk simply for the excercise.  After a minute or so she began, "I made an unexpected acquaintance upon completing my ascension.  A fellow Archmage who was so kind as to offer welcome, and knowledge.  She called herself Aaliyah."  Mistral paused, considering her next words carefully.  "She knew you, but not by name.  Her only name for you was 'calamity.'  She told an interesting tale of your visite des royaumes.  Your tour of the realms."  Mistral regarded Talion curiously, wondering at his reaction.

 When she returned, Talion stood to greet her, walking with her. He kept a respectful distance but remained always within arm's reach to steady or catch you as was needed... and it was needed more than once. "Calamity... I suppose that was fitting.

 You had time to speak with me and get to know me before you saw my true form. Imagine if you hadn't... also, it took time to decipher your languages. I suppose there was also the fact that I destroyed one of their prized Towers in front of them. There were a great many things other than archmages that did not want me here too, not least of all the gods of this realm. There were some I recognized from my own world. They had taken different names but they were the same cowards who left my world to die..."

 Mistral felt his anger begin to manifest as Essence leaked from his form. It was this same wrath that had nearly destroyed New York... but this time he contained it quickly with a deep breath. "I wish I could say that I conducted myself in a manner befitting a diplomat from another world... but I would be lying if I did.

 In the interest of full disclosure, Nefertiti's goddess and I have bad blood going back millenia. It's something I'd rather not talk about but I sense things will end poorly if nothing is said. She was part of a group that conspired to have everyone I cared about as a mortal killed to turn me into a 'weapon of divine vengeance', as they called it.

 Now she blames me for killing her son. Her husband did too until I killed him... so lots of bad blood there."

Mistral walked and listened to Talion, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.  Once he had said his piece she said, "I knew of some of these details of your arrival and suspected much of what Aaliyah reported.  I spoke on your behalf, and provided what context I could.  I spoke of the good you have done since."  She glanced to Talion and went on, "I believe that you would have done differently, had you the chance, but I also believe that change is overdue.  The Abyss cutting the world off from the Supernal is not a status quo worth preserving, à mon avis.  The best foundation for innovation is upon the ruins of what came before."  A pause, and then she added, "I believe I gave Aaliyah perspective to regard you as something more than merely Calamity.  Now she wishes to meet you.  I offered to broach this with you, but made no promises beyond that."

Mistral listened to the brief explanation of the bad blood with Isis and considered.  She attempted a set of shallow steps, but it was too much for her underdeveloped muscles, and she faltered.  Fortunately Talion was there to catch her and help her to her feet.  As she stabilized herself she thanked Talion and then said drily, "Divine murder plots, bad blood... deicide.  I am inclined to believe you, as tales of the gods are full of these."  Mistral regarded Talion, "What then do you think of Nefertiti's dreams to see Isis returned to power?  Would the Fallen World survive la réunion?"

 Talion nodded, remaining ever close to keep her from faltering but remaining far enough away so that the steps she took were her own. "I would be more than happy to meet with her. I've kept my distance since my arrival. I had not thought of a way to approach any of them that would not have had a similar result as the last time. I appreciate that you've opened that path for me."

 He took a deep breath when she mentioned Nefertiti returning Isis to power. "My relationship with the gods is a complex issue. I do not care if they succeed or fail, so long as they leave me and mine alone... but I greatly resent their cowardice after they have the gall to manipulate those they deem 'lesser'.

 I'm not certain if that clears anything up, but I can promise you this, at bare minimum. I will not initiate hostilities without provocation. If she provokes me... well, the one thing I've learned about the gods is that their blood runs as red as any other."

After thanking Talion for the gift and putting it on, Sal walked quietly with Talion and Mistral. Upon the mention of the blood of gods, Sal mused aloud, "I wonder what effect drinking the blood of a god would have on one of my kind?"

 Talion mused for a moment. "Well, deities are essentially very powerful spirits. So it would be akin to consuming a spirit... but the essence would be incredibly potent. I'm not certain if there would be side effects. I could go stab one and let you try it if you like?"

 That last quip was possibly a joke? However, it was delivered so matter-of-factly that Sal couldn't be entirely sure.

 The coat fit around Sal, forming a connection at the skin between his shoulders (though he could still take it off). Once the connection was made, he found that the coat moved according to his will. It could move independently of his body like a series of prehensile appendages. However, the sensation for controlling them was alien, meaning that it would take him a long time to get accustomed to it.