The Mire of Teal is not overrun with Death Witches as it had been. It has largely returned to its quaint tranquility and the Decay Witch couldn’t be happier. She even smiles at Tracia and Ahdis as they sit and talk with the few remaining Death Witches of the Mire who have taken up residence in Decay’s wooden cabin that has been enlarged with new additions for the permanent guests. Currently, eight Death Witches including Decay reside in the cabin.
The mmoatia have been frequent visitors to the Mire over the years, since the liberation of the Death Witch Coven from Kútmómɛ, and they get along like the Coven or the hive of mmoatia that inhabit the Aziza mound in the jungle, which is to say that they mostly have a good time together, though frictions of personalities are inevitable. They play a lot of Smiting, the epic games between Tracia and Detritus are an exciting spectacle for many in the bog. Decay has mended her relationship with her neighbors in the Mire of Teal, the hippos and the roaming mokele dinosaurs frequently pass by the cabin and no longer display apprehension toward the Death Witches.
“You’ve gotten much better,” Detritus says to Tracia who strokes the neck of a hippo that sleeps soundly next to the bench where she sits across from Detritus.
“I think I’ve always been pretty good,” Tracia says. “I was just intimidated by the audience before. You Death Witches don’t quite put me on edge as you did before.”
“You’ll be one of us yet,” the Ruin Witch says and Tracia flashes a look of concern at Ahdis who sits with Decay on the porch, as both mmoatia wonder if Ruin is only joking about having caught some vision. “Don’t worry, Supreme, I am not speaking prophecy,” she says, having observed the exchange.
“You witches aren’t so bad when you’re not terrorizing others,” Ahdis says and Detritus laughs. “But we do enough of the same things that I don’t envy your powerset.”
“Because you are already witches,” Decay says. “We perform magic the same, you all just use Divine Essence and the Pattern, we use Death Magic, though I have learned something of using Divine Essence since I’ve been here in the Mire.”
“Less a Death Witch every day,” Detritus says snidely, eyeing the cards in her hand that float before her just as Tracia’s does. There are cards on the grid that perform the passive actions of the cards and figures made of magic rise up from the activated cards.
“But always reluctantly so,” Decay quips, “does that ease the wound? Oh, however will the Death Witch Coven continue without Decay? They will never be as fearsome without her. The scrolls will never tell the tales of their wondrous deeds for what are they without the great and dear Decay.”
Ahdis doubles over with laughter and Tracia tries to hide her laughter behind her cards, but Detritus is instantly angry and sits up on the edge of the bench, staring at Decay.
“You mock, but it is true, Decay, you are our sister!” Detritus says with force that borders on arcane distortion.
“Calm,” Ruin says and puts a hand on Detritus’s shoulder. “We have been enjoying such a peaceful period of training in preparation for the big conflict to come, there is no need to shatter that now. We agreed, only one fight is permitted until we have survived it, then you are free to direct your anger any way you wish.”
“I don’t mean to start conflict,” Detritus says, relaxing back into her seat. She flicks a finger to play a card from her hand and it floats to land in the grid where it is infused with purple magic. “I am just saying, to hear one of our sisters is happy to be free of our family is difficult to hear and it is even harder to understand why she doesn’t understand it as the tragedy it is. You mock, but I do think we are weakened at the thought of your absence. We wield Death Magic, yes, we can tap it wherever we find it, but a Death Witch gives their life to the Coven and our new selves are bound together, all forged of the same Death Magic spark that reanimated me and the others at the base of Moon Daisy. Death Witch Magic makes you a Death Witch and when you decide to extinguish the spark within yourself, you will extinguish part of the Death Witch Magic forever. We will survive, yes, but there will be less of us and that is something to mourn.”
There is a tense silence between them. Then Tracia leans over the Smiting grid as she takes one of the cards from her floating hand and places it on the table top. There is a flash of green energy and vines of the green magic shoot out to every one of Detritus’s gridded cards and they go inert, winning the game for Tracia.
“I wasn’t sure how long to wait before I took my turn,” Tracia says with a sheepish grin. Detritus, and then Decay, and then Ahdis, and then Ruin begin to laugh.
They are bantering normally when Sakpata arrives and he bows to them as they bow to him.
“Lovely to make the acquaintance of such a powerful assembly of witches,” Sakpata says.
“To what do we owe this pleasure, Vodun?” Detritus asks.
“I have a most dangerous mandate,” Sakpata says and sits cross-legged in the clearing before Decay’s cabin in his large Vodun form, though he can look at them all at eye level while he sits. “The Vodun Agê discovered that Une is still present in the realms that she has devoured and even if we destroy her at the root, she will still persist on the structure. I need three of you to join me with four others on my quest to burn Une out of the multiversal structure. I anticipate that she will be weaker than she is at her source, though we will be facing a threat the size of an entire realm. I am confident in my ability to face and defeat this weakened Une with the help of the team I am assembling, but the numbers are few to avoid the loss of too many in the event of failure. If we fail, they can still succeed at her source and then go after what is left, but we hope to be done with this when Une is done. And that is all we really have, the hope that I am not deluded in my assessment of my own power.”
Sakpata is genuine and it is touching to the audience of witches.
“I would go,” Tracia responds first, “but I will be by Pultine’s side when we go to Une. And I think that Detritus and Ruin are also set on being there.”
“Then what about Ahdis, Decay, and one of your companions?” Sakpata asks the two on the porch of the cabin. “The Dark Witch Sorcerer or Shini would be welcomed additions.”
Decay and Ahdis look to one another.
“I am happy to help however I can,” Decay says to Ahdis, “but I don’t think I can convince Mangwale to join us. He is still rejecting his name. He is more Death Witch than I am these days, and not happy to hear that we are collaborating with Fonlanders we called our inferiors before you imprisoned him.”
“I am sure that Shini would come,” Ahdis nods and she looks to Sakpata. “He is naturally a wielder of Death Magic, but he is an eager student of the Green, I think you will find him most helpful.” Ahdis summons Shini and he arrives quickly because he is not far away. Then the two, along with Decay, travel with Sakpata to the Smiting Chamber.
“Was this the dream?” Sakpata asks Azalaan after they emerge through his portal.
Azalaan scrunches his nose and glares at Decay, Ahdis and Shini as they stand looking around themselves at the Chamber.
“Fine, I was wrong, somehow you can interpret my dreams better than I can, are you happy?” Azalaan is angry and not hiding it well.
“I know nothing of your dreams, little god,” Sakpata pats Azalaan on the head with his large hand and Azalaan just stews in his annoyance. “But I am thankful to have them and you to make me feel better about what I am asking them all to do.” Sakpata looks at all of them, everyone he has assembled and he moves his left hand that is inundated with gray magic that forms a list of about thirty names in the space before them all.
“This is our itinerary, composed by the Smiting Chamber,” Sakpata explains. “We will utilize the mists of the heptagon for training for seven risings of my jewel, and we will familiarize ourselves with each of these realms. Then we will travel to them, me and three others who I will choose based on your abilities and the realm. The rest will be on standby if assistance is required. I am grateful to all of you for joining me and I am confident that we will know victory.”
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