Stasis-Prologue
Silence.
It was unnatural.
Walking down this specific cave was unnatural.
Then again, the whole purpose of these steps that she took was unnatural.
The prophet of her clan had seen the future in one of her seeings, a rare occasion.
And good grief was it unnatural.
So there she was, walking to her fate with her head held high and jaw set.
Nothing was particularly special.
Or at least that was what it seemed from afar.
She was a middle sized snow leopard, with a pale silver coloured pelt and her spots were a dark obsidian colour with a hint of blue and purple, like the night sky. The snow leopard had glittering amethyst eyes that were unnaturally bright, and glowed in the darkness. However, what made her special was sitting innocently above her head. Above the amethyst eyes was a grey, a glittering marking in the shape of an intricate circlet that wrapped around the predator’s head. It stretched all the way being the ears with a patch of onyx coloured fur in the shape of the north star, it’s tip dripping off the middle of the circlet, in between the eyes.
The star was a symbolisation of hope and preservation.
So, naturally, her parents named her Kyuusei, meaning salvation.
Oh the irony, considering her purpose here.
As she approached the end of the passage way, she heard rocks tumbling down from the entrance of the tunnel. Cut off from the surface, Kyuusei gripped the cold, stone floor tightly and continued on.
She emerged into a dimly lit cave, it’s only light source a small hole in the middle of the roof of the cave that allowed a small stream of moonlight into the cave. The beam touched the floor, caused a small circle of bright, luminous light that shone. Raising her head higher, she padded to the center of the cave and sat in the middle of the stream of light, not allowing any part of her fur come in contact from the bright circle.
Signal one, a shooting star only visible from the inside of the cave.
Step one, make a wish.
“I wish to assist the creatures to the Middle…”
Signal two, a small shift in the earth.
Step two, solidify the wish with eight drops of life blood in the shape of the North Star.
Kyuusei extended her claws and winced as she lightly clawed her throat and left chest. The blood flowed from the claw marks and blended together, forming a richer and darker shade of red. Extracting her claws, Kyuusei dipped her right paw in the mixed blood and allowed one drop of blood the form a point on front of her, to the left, to the right, behind her, and in between each of the points. The wounds healed quickly at an alarming pace and the remaining blood was absorbed into the ground, leaving eight drops of glowing blood.
Signal three, a light breeze in the air.
Step three, sing the song of fate.
Kyuusei took a deep yet silent breath and exhaled, letting soft and steady notes her roars float through the air. The roar escaped the confines of the cave and spread out. They would continue searching for the group of creatures that were the key to salvation and the notes would draw them to the cave.
Signal four, a small flash from the sky.
Step four, chant the spell of the living death.
Kyuusei closed her eyes and began to recite the forbidden spell of the living death.
Dead yet alive, gone but still lingering.
Life deprived, and encased in nothing.
The heart stops and breathing ceases,
But the soul lives on and the mind eases.
To be dead yet alive, lingering yet gone,
Freeze this one still as time moves on.
Signal five, the full moon aligns itself with the hole
Step five, tip your head to the hole and inhale. When the moon fully aligns itself with the hole, exhale deeply.
Closing her eyes, Kyuusei tipped her head to the moon and inhaled deeply. From the crack of her eyes, she saw the moon align itself perfectly with the hole and exhaled deeply. With that one exhale, she poured her life force into the moonlight. The blood drops surrounding her shifted and began to spread, turning a light ice-blue colour. The substance climbed up Kyuusei who was frozen still. It inched it’s way up her still form and encased her in the liquid, little by little. It sunk in her body and froze her organs in place, putting her in immobility. Soon, the substance had covered Kyuusei and hardened, leaving her encased in a semi-transparent light-blue crystal. The moonlight shined on the crystal, illuminating the cave even more. Her fur was spread out from the light breeze, giving her an eerie and unearthly appearance. There the salvation of the wolves sat, paralysed, lifeless.
In stasis.
