Outside, a torrent. Acid rain choked thick and heavy from the pitch black soot which clung like the pall of death to the crooked landscape. I watched from a hole bored through solid rock dense as steel. Bones of the earth scoured of any respectable life in this region. I watched for my sisters. My coven-mates whom had roved out from this paltry nook we had carved for ourselves in this hidden world. My only family, after we had broken off from the greater coven’s way and been cast out. That coven aimed to kill us, sheer our minds off of the universal tableau where all things lay, but we escaped, and now they were after us. 

At least, that is what I, Nasaran, thought. My other two sisters. Those whom I hold most dear and depend upon for survival, for comfort and acceptance, had long since abandoned any notion of an outright pursuit. In truth we had created for ourselves something of safety. Pierint was certain we were not actively hunted, the coven could not find us, and we could rest easy now. Dalasin was unsure but after two months, two cycles of this planet’s hideous lunar cycle with not an indication of pursuit, she let her guard down slightly. I, of course, did not believe it for an instant. I hoped dearly that their false hope of safety had not led to the unthinkable. 

Rain had been failing continuously for, by my count, 9 days. Two days prior to which my sisters cast out, fearing it be their last chance to secure necessary supplies before the coming storm scoured everything of use from the earth around us. Despite knowing it was difficult going I still worried for them, and after such a time yearned for their company. 

I supposed then, looking out upon the sheet of darkness, I should put my mind to better uses. I turned from the window and set back to the small kitchen area we had constructed. The floor here was tellerwood, which we had conjured in one of the first weeks and laid throughout most of our dwelling. To set my bare feet upon it reminded me instinctively of home. The coven, those crystal moon nights when I loved to gaze upon the stars and trace the lineage of the planet with my divination. Although it was cold to the touch, I was made warm inside by it. I had to prime the heating stone again before sleeping. 

Upon the stove the kettle I had set minutes prior had set to boiling. One of my many comforts of home. The last of the herbs I was able to salvage from the coven were dwindling. A worry which always scratched at the back of my mind, as the herbs were the only thing I had on hand that could quiet the gnawing feelings which threatened my sanity all too often these days. To be separated from all that I loved so violently had exacerbated some of my conditions, which at least a third of my days were dedicated to managing. 

The tea was done and the spices filled our dingy home with scent-washed memory. I breathed in the aromatic fumes and my mind was instantly soothed. The scratching and gnawing subsided. I breathed a deep sigh and was at peace for the moment. 

Drawing the heavy lever down the mechanical hatch which was our makeshift window, the single point in our home which led out, and into our mountain dwelling. It was a particular stroke of luck that we were able to locate a mass of earth which could defy divination and scrying. As such my greater senses, and those of our possible pursuers, were blinded here. Being cut from the sense of the world around me was a difficult thing to adjust to.

I cast my attention down to the little wooden table where I had lain the tome I was pouring over. Getting through the text was difficult, but rewarding, and of great importance to our current work. 

At the moment, Pierint and Dalasin were on the other side of a magical gateway drawn in blood chalk on the wall on the first floor of our abode. It loomed large, our makeshift front door, now deactivated with a breaking of one of the lines of divine geometric code. I awaited the particular signal to indicate I should turn it on for my sisters to return to the safety of our home. As it was now, there was no way for them to return, other than somehow finding the tiny hole in the side of the rock face that was our window. 

Traversal over the open wilderness was quite difficult and it was my task now to recalibrate the gate to move us to different zones around this planet. We sought better accommodations, a nicer, more hospitable environment to settle in, and more rich resources with which to refine the craft. 

With my tea steaming in the clay mug beside me I set about the perusal of the great tome before me. It was a truly ancient thing. Several handspans across on either axis. Bound in leather made from the hide of a Fell Beast, oxidized to a blue sheen over thousands of years. Such binding was necessary as the contents would not stay affixed to the page if inscribed in more mundane material. Each page was treated beforehand with an elixir that would literally trap the information onto the page. The cover, a bulwark against intrusion. A wayward magical spell would not destroy the book, as well as any untoward magical phenomena that may occur to a reader during reading. 

The language itself, well, it wasn't truly language. The book communed with the reader in the script of pure thought. As such it was a heady read, and not one that anyone not trained and prepared to do so could withstand. If gazed upon for too long by someone ill prepared to receive the raw information, death was highly likely. The coven prepared a certain few of their number for the task of reading these tomes, and transcribing their information for use by the coven. 

I was one of these few. The process required to allow such raw and potent information to enter a human mind resulted in the subject being not quite human. A parasite, the larva of Mother Centipede, whom the coven worshipped deep under the crust of the earth, would be made to take host in a young child. A few other outcomes were possible from such a fusion, but the most sought after was this, was me. A shivering mess, wracked by the thoughts of two separate minds, one human, and one very much alien, vying for control. The parasite inhabited the human body, not physically, but intertwined with the magical soul current of the host. And its fractal thought patterns buffeted the mind constantly like in an assault like a gale wind.

As a result of this pairing, and the physical toll, I was treated well, and not subject to most of the rigors of coven life. I hated this. I hated that I could not join my sisters in their daily tasks, learn the same spells and achieve the same things they strove for. All my life spent in libraries, in private studies, and in special lessons meant to hone the natural abilities granted by the parasite. They told me it was an honor, I was a revered host of a child of Mother Centipede. I now know many of the things they told me were lies. 

This, though. If I could give purpose to this tome, a priceless well of arcane knowledge, the only thing of value we were able to steal before our violent escape, I could be of use to my most dear sisters. This was my purpose and I would not let those I cared for down. 

After what felt like hours of work. Sweaty work, exhausting, soul tearing transcription, I had finished another page. My head now swam with impossible magic truth, and I needed rest. I got up from my seat at the table and trudged over to the bed. A pile of cotton, straw, and other stuffed pillows, and fell asleep instantly.

Dreaming, lately, has been the harshest ordeal. Memories of the coven. The grand sense of purpose, the sense of family, all ripped away, again and again. Dreams of my only remaining sisters, my family, my protectors, killed by unknowable horrors, or worse, hunted by the coven we once called kin. Just dreams I tried to tell myself, but I knew they were all very real possibilities. Dreams of a mind gripped by a Holy Parasite were never sound, but within so much real danger and uncertainty, real fear was impossible to stave off. Truthfully, as the days lingered on, I found myself sleeping longer and longer, and with each night of dreams, my resolve, and fragile sanity grew weaker. 

I would stay strong. For my sisters. We would survive, and we would make a new place where we could feel safe. We would find happiness. I told myself this every waking moment. 

I was awoken after how long. Days? By the signal. The torrential rain still poured outside. I could hear it drumming on the stone through the porthole, still closed. 

A resonance stone. Three stones, all linked by superposition as one. I kept it on my person at all times. Each of us had one, a limited form of communication. We used them to indicate when the gate should be opened. The stone would vibrate violently when struck properly, and each of the sister stones would vibrate the same. 

I pried myself from the cold comfort of the bedding, and made my way down the ladder to the first floor of the cave. The portal remained nearly completed on the wall, only a few markings were removed each time to deactivate it. I replaced the necessary portions with blood chalk and the gate came alive. Magical circles, lines, geometry, text. They shimmered, glowed, twisted, and moved like a well oiled piece of clockwork when finished. Upon the bare center, the grey stone of the cave wall was replaced by an opening. On the other side of this new doorway, swaddled in the darkness of the storm, and in a deep cloak concealing all features, stood my sister, unmistakable.

Pierint rushed through the opening. I moved to smudge off the lines of the circle which cut the effect, and we both stood safe from the torrent once more. I stood still in a moment of pure elation, pure joy at seeing my sister safe. 

She dropped her long cane staff onto the floor of the cave and went down on one knee. I rushed to her side. 

Pierint was panting. Struggling to stay up from pure exhaustion. “Hello, Little Calf. Sorry to keep you waiting." 

Rainwater pooled around Pierint's robes sticking to the ground. Even the water resistant layers were completely drenched through. 

"We have to get you out of the robes. Then we can talk." I said. I began the work of peeling off the sticking clothes. The first layer was easiest, a dark cloak. I discarded it on the floor. As I peeled off the layers the shape of my sister became clearer. 

Pierint was a large woman. With a foundation like a great tree, muscles like firm roots, and towering over most other sisters back in the coven. She always strode through the stone white halls of the coven with her head held high, a beacon of strength to her other sisters. She never moved without a crowd of others, basking in her glow and drawing strength from her good humor. The first time I saw her cry was when we had to steal away from the coven hold in a rush of awful violence. 

Pierint worked her several belts to release the grip they had on her body. Vials full of potent elixir, and pockets and pouches full of various things felt to the floor, metal buckles rattling on the dull grey stone. It was then she sighed with a great breath of relief, gripped her staff, and with an inhuman word, the water evaporated off her body. Leaving her in a steaming cloud. 

I had still been trying to pry the last layers off her when it happened, and got a face full of hot steam. I closed my eyes and coughed, and felt my body lift into the air swiftly. 

Pierint was standing now, gripping my much smaller frame in a tight embrace. As firm as a mountain, and yet as comforting as the softest pillow. 

"The night was long and dark, my little calf, but I have made it through!" She pressed her face, still hot from the evaporation spell, and from the physical exertion it took to make it back to the doorstep, to mine. She sat me back down and I could not help but smile like a child who had never known pain. 

"Welcome back, my sister. I was so worried. You were gone for so long!" I said, gazing up at the beautiful mountain in front of me. 

"I know. I am sorry, little calf. Truthfully I did not know I would take so long. The jungle is denser than possible, and the beasts within it…" she paused for a moment, her eyes gazing through a memory I could not see. "We are surrounded by incredible danger, little sister but… I believe I may have found a way. Out of the jungle, and this torrent. I have found a path, I think."

The news was like a blessing. I was so overwhelmed I dropped to my knees, instantly exhausted despite the sleep I just awoke from. 

Pierint was surprised, and bent over to help me. I smiled at her to still her hand, to show her I was alright. 

"That is excellent news, sister." I said. "It makes me so happy. I have been working hard while both of you have been gone. I have found something too!"