Soul Circles Series Pt4 Ch5 Initiative FRAO Spike centerd fic Warning:Possible character death
Summary:Spike and Beth are trapped in Gaia's amulet. Evan is searching for a way to bring them back and make them whole.
Note: This chapter was co authored by my beta Marilyn. She did a wonderful job of getting this story moving again after I hit a brick wall.
Thank you Marilyn.
Initiative
Ch 5
“Night Walker,” Wakanda said one evening as Evan awoke. “You must make a medicine pouch to wear in your vision quest.”
“A medicine pouch?” Evan asked.
“Yes. It will hold those things that are sacred to your soul.”
“How shall I do this?”
“Choose a piece of buckskin, and I will show you how to lace it together to make the pouch. Then you must meditate to see the sacred symbols that you will paint on it.”
Wakanda showed Evan several pieces of buckskin and Evan chose one. Then Wakanda showed Evan how to punch the holes in the buckskin for the rawhide lacings.
The pouch was small and, except for the painted symbols, was finished the next day. Evan went into meditation as he had learned to do in Tibet and painted the symbols on one side of his medicine pouch; Wakanda painted sacred symbols of protection on the other side.
One evening, when the moon was full Wakanda came to Evan. “We must walk tonight so that you can find your sacred place and build your sacred circle.” Going out for a walk was good. He had been spending a lot of time meditating and he needed to get out.
“Tell me your thoughts, Night Walker,” Wakanda said after walking for about fifteen minutes in silence.
“I was thinking of my Sire,” Evan said. “We would go out and run most every evening. It was wonderful having him beside me. The smell of the grass and trees as we ran was glorious. I was lost before he adopted me.”
“Ahhh,” Wakanda said. “And now your sire is the one that is lost and you that seek him.”
“Well,” Evan said in a thoughtful voice. “He’s the one that is lost but I am still the seeker.”
“Then it was not he that found you?” Wakanda asked.
“No, I asked him to adopt me. He said no at first because he had a soul and I didn’t have one back then. So I told him I would get my soul back. He told me it was not possible but his mate is a light giver and she offered to restore my soul. She told him that we were destined to fight side by side.”
“And you became her mate also?”
“We’re not sure how the bonds got tangled but it happened and we were happy together.”
“A light giver mated to two vampires; it is difficult to imagine.”
Evan sighed. “I miss them, I’ll do what ever I have to, to get them back.” Evan looked up and realized he was in a canyon surrounded on three sides by high walls. “I like this place,” Evan said. “Is this a good place for the vision quest?”
“Indeed, Night Walker; it is. There is ample room for a sacred circle and the walls are high and will protect you.”
“Then this is where I’ll undergo my Vision Quest.” Evan tried to open himself to the natural world around him, the better to relax and find his inner self when he needed to.
As Wakanda instructed Evan collected together enough stones to make a circle of around two meters diameter. When the stone circle was finished he looked to his companion.
Wakanda handed him a pouch and Evan looked up, his face puzzled.
“Plant extracts, Night Walker. Swallow them with water.”
Evan emptied the powdered contents of the pouch into his mouth and took several gulps from his canteen to wash the desiccated concoction down. He had the sneaking suspicion that it was some sort of hallucinogen, but accepted that Wakanda knew more about a Vision Quest then he did. If he had to use drugs to get back his beloved Sire and Mate then he was willing to do so.
“Sit inside the circle, Night Walker. Place your medicine pouch around your neck.”
Even did as instructed, stepping into the circle and sitting cross-legged. He hung the pouch containing small keepsakes that had been given to him by his Sire and his Mate, locks of hair from Connor and Dawn along with a small sacred likeness of Gaia that had been a gift from the Monks in Tibet.
Wakanda had set out for their walk in his full Medicine Man garb and now proceeded to sprinkle a mixture of powdered and crushed herbs, which were hung in pouches around his waist, over the stones, chanting in his Lakota tongue as he did so. Evan slowly tuned out the chanting and centered himself, using the meditation techniques he’d worked hard to learn in Tibet, delving deep within his soul to try to make spiritual contact with his lost loves.
Silence fell around him and he felt something...something tugging at him, at his soul, his mind and he allowed this force to pull him to somewhere that felt…otherworldly. He felt peace and tranquility around him and opened his eyes.
Lights.
There were lights dancing all around him, flickering, coalescing; colored lights, pastels and deeper colors; pure white lights, pulsing and vibrant and he tried to reach out and touch them but they were ethereal and dissipated as soon as he thought he’d made contact.
He laughed with a childlike joy at their beauty.
“So beautiful,” he said.
“Thank you,” the lights answered in harmony.
“You can speak!” he said amazed.
“As can you,” they answered as one.
“Where am I?” Evan asked
“This is our place of being. Why have you come?”
“I wish to call my soul mates back from the bosom of Gaia to the Earth Plane. I seek a way to make them whole.”
“We will do this thing for the Champions of Gaia. You must bring a white light to your Earth Plane. We will give our energy to make the champions whole and then return to this place.”
“But I don’t know how to bring you back.” Evan said. “How can I carry a beam of light?”
“As Gaia carries the champions souls in her bosom so you will carry our light in yours.”
Evan looked at his medicine pouch, he didn’t understand how it could hold a beam of light but he opened it and a small white ball flew in. Evan could see the items in his pouch glow and he closed the bag.
“You must let us free when the souls of your loved ones are with you once again, but not before,” the light beings said. “They must see our light to be made whole.”
“Thank you,” Evan said and then he woke from his Vision Quest.
Wakanda stopped beating his drum when he saw Evan’s conscientiousness was back from the alternate plane of existence.
“Thank you Wakanda,” Evan said clutching his medicine bag and resisting the urge to see if the light was still inside. This was an act of faith, a test in his trust of all the things he had learned on his journeys of the past year. He felt as if this was a rite of passage not only for his soul mates but also for himself. He was in a state of becoming and his soul had touched the universe.
The pair got up and walked back to the town in silence. Wakanda knew the Night Walker had been successful. He had lived a long life and never thought that he would see a dark one turn so truly to the light. He considered himself blessed that the sprits would trust him with this duty.
One look at Evan’s face upon his return told Connor and Dawn all they needed to know; the Vision Quest had been a success.
Evan was anxious to get home. He now had the knowledge and the means to bring back the people he loved and for him it could not be done soon enough.
The trio asked Wakanda and Daniel to be part of the sacred circle in the calling back of Spike and Beth’s souls. They were humbled by the request and accepted. Dawn opened a portal and the five stepped through to The Watcher Council Headquarters.
It was six a.m. when the last of the coven arrived. All held hands and chanted while Evan sat in the middle of the circle calling his loved ones to him. A beam of light appeared and Gaia’s amulet fell from it, there was a swirl of air turned to a whirlwind, as two bodies appeared to form from dust. And then Spike and Beth stood before them looking exactly as they had the day they had left.
Nothing was said as Evan stood and opened his medicine pouch. There was a flash of white light and Spike and Beth were made whole.
Note: This chapter was co authored by my beta Marilyn. She did a wonderful job of getting this story moving again after I hit a brick wall.
Thank you Marilyn.
Initiative
Ch 5
“Night Walker,” Wakanda said one evening as Evan awoke. “You must make a medicine pouch to wear in your vision quest.”
“A medicine pouch?” Evan asked.
“Yes. It will hold those things that are sacred to your soul.”
“How shall I do this?”
“Choose a piece of buckskin, and I will show you how to lace it together to make the pouch. Then you must meditate to see the sacred symbols that you will paint on it.”
Wakanda showed Evan several pieces of buckskin and Evan chose one. Then Wakanda showed Evan how to punch the holes in the buckskin for the rawhide lacings.
The pouch was small and, except for the painted symbols, was finished the next day. Evan went into meditation as he had learned to do in Tibet and painted the symbols on one side of his medicine pouch; Wakanda painted sacred symbols of protection on the other side.
One evening, when the moon was full Wakanda came to Evan. “We must walk tonight so that you can find your sacred place and build your sacred circle.” Going out for a walk was good. He had been spending a lot of time meditating and he needed to get out.
“Tell me your thoughts, Night Walker,” Wakanda said after walking for about fifteen minutes in silence.
“I was thinking of my Sire,” Evan said. “We would go out and run most every evening. It was wonderful having him beside me. The smell of the grass and trees as we ran was glorious. I was lost before he adopted me.”
“Ahhh,” Wakanda said. “And now your sire is the one that is lost and you that seek him.”
“Well,” Evan said in a thoughtful voice. “He’s the one that is lost but I am still the seeker.”
“Then it was not he that found you?” Wakanda asked.
“No, I asked him to adopt me. He said no at first because he had a soul and I didn’t have one back then. So I told him I would get my soul back. He told me it was not possible but his mate is a light giver and she offered to restore my soul. She told him that we were destined to fight side by side.”
“And you became her mate also?”
“We’re not sure how the bonds got tangled but it happened and we were happy together.”
“A light giver mated to two vampires; it is difficult to imagine.”
Evan sighed. “I miss them, I’ll do what ever I have to, to get them back.” Evan looked up and realized he was in a canyon surrounded on three sides by high walls. “I like this place,” Evan said. “Is this a good place for the vision quest?”
“Indeed, Night Walker; it is. There is ample room for a sacred circle and the walls are high and will protect you.”
“Then this is where I’ll undergo my Vision Quest.” Evan tried to open himself to the natural world around him, the better to relax and find his inner self when he needed to.
As Wakanda instructed Evan collected together enough stones to make a circle of around two meters diameter. When the stone circle was finished he looked to his companion.
Wakanda handed him a pouch and Evan looked up, his face puzzled.
“Plant extracts, Night Walker. Swallow them with water.”
Evan emptied the powdered contents of the pouch into his mouth and took several gulps from his canteen to wash the desiccated concoction down. He had the sneaking suspicion that it was some sort of hallucinogen, but accepted that Wakanda knew more about a Vision Quest then he did. If he had to use drugs to get back his beloved Sire and Mate then he was willing to do so.
“Sit inside the circle, Night Walker. Place your medicine pouch around your neck.”
Even did as instructed, stepping into the circle and sitting cross-legged. He hung the pouch containing small keepsakes that had been given to him by his Sire and his Mate, locks of hair from Connor and Dawn along with a small sacred likeness of Gaia that had been a gift from the Monks in Tibet.
Wakanda had set out for their walk in his full Medicine Man garb and now proceeded to sprinkle a mixture of powdered and crushed herbs, which were hung in pouches around his waist, over the stones, chanting in his Lakota tongue as he did so. Evan slowly tuned out the chanting and centered himself, using the meditation techniques he’d worked hard to learn in Tibet, delving deep within his soul to try to make spiritual contact with his lost loves.
Silence fell around him and he felt something...something tugging at him, at his soul, his mind and he allowed this force to pull him to somewhere that felt…otherworldly. He felt peace and tranquility around him and opened his eyes.
Lights.
There were lights dancing all around him, flickering, coalescing; colored lights, pastels and deeper colors; pure white lights, pulsing and vibrant and he tried to reach out and touch them but they were ethereal and dissipated as soon as he thought he’d made contact.
He laughed with a childlike joy at their beauty.
“So beautiful,” he said.
“Thank you,” the lights answered in harmony.
“You can speak!” he said amazed.
“As can you,” they answered as one.
“Where am I?” Evan asked
“This is our place of being. Why have you come?”
“I wish to call my soul mates back from the bosom of Gaia to the Earth Plane. I seek a way to make them whole.”
“We will do this thing for the Champions of Gaia. You must bring a white light to your Earth Plane. We will give our energy to make the champions whole and then return to this place.”
“But I don’t know how to bring you back.” Evan said. “How can I carry a beam of light?”
“As Gaia carries the champions souls in her bosom so you will carry our light in yours.”
Evan looked at his medicine pouch, he didn’t understand how it could hold a beam of light but he opened it and a small white ball flew in. Evan could see the items in his pouch glow and he closed the bag.
“You must let us free when the souls of your loved ones are with you once again, but not before,” the light beings said. “They must see our light to be made whole.”
“Thank you,” Evan said and then he woke from his Vision Quest.
Wakanda stopped beating his drum when he saw Evan’s conscientiousness was back from the alternate plane of existence.
“Thank you Wakanda,” Evan said clutching his medicine bag and resisting the urge to see if the light was still inside. This was an act of faith, a test in his trust of all the things he had learned on his journeys of the past year. He felt as if this was a rite of passage not only for his soul mates but also for himself. He was in a state of becoming and his soul had touched the universe.
The pair got up and walked back to the town in silence. Wakanda knew the Night Walker had been successful. He had lived a long life and never thought that he would see a dark one turn so truly to the light. He considered himself blessed that the sprits would trust him with this duty.
One look at Evan’s face upon his return told Connor and Dawn all they needed to know; the Vision Quest had been a success.
Evan was anxious to get home. He now had the knowledge and the means to bring back the people he loved and for him it could not be done soon enough.
The trio asked Wakanda and Daniel to be part of the sacred circle in the calling back of Spike and Beth’s souls. They were humbled by the request and accepted. Dawn opened a portal and the five stepped through to The Watcher Council Headquarters.
It was six a.m. when the last of the coven arrived. All held hands and chanted while Evan sat in the middle of the circle calling his loved ones to him. A beam of light appeared and Gaia’s amulet fell from it, there was a swirl of air turned to a whirlwind, as two bodies appeared to form from dust. And then Spike and Beth stood before them looking exactly as they had the day they had left.
Nothing was said as Evan stood and opened his medicine pouch. There was a flash of white light and Spike and Beth were made whole.