บท 71: Flying too close to the Sun
Sowelo.
Mafalda was laughing madly now, as if she had never seen anything funnier in her entire life.
Sowelo.
"Come on, you're already falling like flies, and I haven't even done anything yet," she taunted. "Potter, you've made a poor choice of allies, it seems! Still, I hope one of you pulls through; otherwise, I won't be able to experiment on you!"
Sowelo.
"Ron, grab the hat!" yelled Potter. "I'll distract her!"
Sowelo.
The boys couldn't do much without their wands, but they weren't about to lie down and accept death. Weasley dived into the cool water, while Potter started hurling pieces of rubble at Mafalda.
SOWELO.
Oleandra could barely think through the pain caused by the magic searing its way through her magic circuits. She was literally being cooked alive by the power coursing through her. No spell she knew could get rid of the energy fast enough, and even if she did know one, she'd still be channelling power, which was precisely what was killing her.
By its own initiative, a rune had presented itself to Oleandra in her mindscape. Sowelo, the sun rune, had begun to shine brightly. Oleandra immediately pushed it away. Yes, Sowelo could use up all the energy, but it would also transform her into a miniature sun. Doubtlessly, it would finish off Mafalda, but it would also kill everyone else present, as well as destroy a large part of the castle. Time was running out; she had to make a choice now!
And then, through a sheen of bloody tears, she saw Daphne's fingers wriggling. She was still alive, but she didn't seem to be doing too well either; a wood nymph was a creature that needed sunlight to thrive, just like the trees it protected. A rudimentary plan formed in Oleandra's fevered mind. She would share the burden of power with her sister, and instead of invoking its aspect of destruction, she would manifest the sun through its aspect of life!
Oleandra grabbed on tightly to her sister's hand.
"Wunjo, Sowelo, Ehwo," gasped out Oleandra. "The Standard under which we fight, the life-giving Sun, the Heavenly Twins. Let all burdens be shared between us, and may the sun shine down on us and grant us its blessings!"
A warm and gentle light filled the room, as an incandescent orb rose to the ceiling of the Chamber.
Immediately, Oleandra felt much better, but that didn't mean the damage had been healed. She stood up with difficulty to ascertain the situation. Mafalda had suspended Potter in the air by the ankle with a spell, and was currently gazing in wonder at the sun Oleandra had created. As for the Basilisk, it had stopped reeling from its injuries. If anything was to be done, it had to be now!
"What's going on?" asked Daphne, who had sat up with a jolt. "You look like a mess."
Oh good, Daphne's awake, Oleandra noted. She tore her eyes away from Mafalda. There was something strange about the girl, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. There was a discrepancy between what she had said and what she was doing, but those thoughts were best kept for later, so she pushed them down.
"My runeword spell finally kicked in, but my body couldn't stand the power of a million exploding suns. As for you, you conked out after drinking the potion. I was going to explode from the inside from all the magic, so I made it go through you as well, and used the rest of the power to create a small sun. You're part plant now, so I supposed you needed some light to complete your transformation," Oleandra explained.
"Well, I feel great!" exclaimed Daphne, uncharacteristically excited. "And I can talk to plants now. Isn't that neat?"
Meanwhile, Mafalda had managed to get her Basilisk under control. She hissed, and the gigantic snake plunged its head into the water in an attempt to find Weasley.
"Hagal!" yelled Oleandra, taking the stance of the hailstorm rune.
A small hailstorm was conjured around the Basilisk, but it didn't seem to do much of anything.
"Nice try," grinned Mafalda. "Ordinary snakes don't like the cold, but my Basilisk is anything but ordinary!"
The cold was actually doing more harm than good, as it caused Daphne to shiver uncontrollably. She had just gained the powers of a wood nymph, but also its weaknesses! Oleandra was forced to cancel her magic.
"I've got it!" yelled Weasley, as he emerged from the water, holding up a dripping wet Sorting Hat a bit further away from where the Basilisk was searching. Instantly, the gigantic snake started slithering towards the source of the shouting and splashing.
"RON, DUCK!" shouted Potter, who was still suspended upside down.
"Either you come out and get eaten, or you stay down there and drown!" taunted Mafalda. "Which one will it be?"
Weasley didn't even have the time to say his trademark 'bloody hell' before he was forced to dip back underwater, where the snake wouldn't be able to easily find him.
"Thursaz!" shouted Oleandra, once again employing a stance instead of a hand sign. Mafalda wasn't attacking her, which meant she had all the time in the world to empower her spells!
Unfortunately, it seemed like she had eyes in the back of her head, as Mafalda employed a silent Shield Charm to send her attack back at her! That was full strength Thursaz! How in the world was a twelve-year-old girl so powerful??
"Elhaz!" Oleandra barely had the time to conjure up her own magical protection before she was hit by her own spell.
Meanwhile, Daphne had taken out a handful of acorns out of her bag and tossed them all around the room.
"Berkana, Fehu!" Daphne said clearly. "Let my seeds beget a world of trees!"
Ordinarily, she would have had to wait for her spell to work, as the magic of the stars didn't work well underground, but she was currently infused with half of the star power Oleandra had gained through the ALU runeword! She was also handling the extra burden much better than her sister, as the potion had augmented her constitution to near fantastic beast levels!
The oak trees took root in the stone floor, a dozen thick tree trunks shot up from the ground and filled the air with branches and leaves.
"And I'm not done yet!" announced Daphne with a radiant smile on her lips.
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