Private In Divine Domains

[Arcturus Dinn]

​

It had been a most unexpected find, and truth be told he could not take credit for it. Ishani Dinn had been the one to excitedly lead him through the cavernous underpasses hewn out over time by flowing water, and revealed to him the hidden grotto within. Light pooled in from up above, illuminating the center of an underground lake wherein a small island lay and a pink-leaved tree at its center. It was, simply put, perfect.​

​

They'd enjoyed it together that first day, jumping into the purified water and splashing around as though they were careless teens again, their beautiful children safely tucked away on an invisible Beholder. They really needed to form a true home here, it was next on his list of things to do. But first?​

​

Well, quite frankly, he'd decided that this was to be their place. Not a home, but their sacred spot, where earth met air. The Underworld and the Sky in harmony. So it was that he chose a lofty rock, one he could readily get down from as needed but which kept the flat top from view down below, and sat. Deep in thought, in meditation, he drew upon the Force and began to carve into the ground a series of runes. For days and nights he remained there, etching away with just one small tool, occasionally pricking his fingertips to draw blood into the fold.​

​

All around him the circle of runes seemed to grow, and though he hungered and tired he did not relent, could not relent until his task was at an end.​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

The grotto was still and silent, save for the occasional echo of a falling rock or droplet of water from the opening above. Rhi floated on the surface of the blue water, her head tilted back and her long yellow hair trailing around her.

She had come by to check on Arc. Finding him still deep in meditation, she didn’t want to disturb him, but didn’t want to leave just yet. So she had gone for a swim as an excuse to stay.

Floating in the water did wonders for her sore back, taking off the extra weight she was carrying. But she couldn’t stay in there forever. Right as her fingers began to prune, she swam to the shore of the little island at the center, where Arc sat etching in the dirt. She had left a bag of food, water, and other supplies there for him earlier, including a cooler to keep things cold, but she could see that it remained untouched.

Climbing out of the pool, she fanned her wings and wrung water from her hair. It had grown incredibly long, and with the weight of the water the length only increased, reaching past her lower back. Having taken off her clothes before she swam to keep them dry, she put them back on and opened the bag of supplies, taking something out for herself. After a moment, she reached into the bag again, pulled out a ripe shuura, and approached Arc.

She was careful to step over the circle of runes he was making. “Looks like you’re close to being finished,” she remarked. Holding out her hand, she offered the fruit to him.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

So much blood and sweat had been drawn into the earth that Arcturus was left looking haggard by the time the last rune was drawn and the circle was perfected. Everything was in its place, nothing was missing, he could tell because his body felt drawn to it. It was made of his life force as much as anything else, tied to him. There was more to do, this was only the first step in his overarching plan, but he could not do the next part while running on fumes.​

​

Rhiannon stepped into the circle just as that final rune was etched. Each of his fingertips were coated in dried blood, save for the pinkie of his right which was still a fresh cut. He took in a shallow breath, then slowly opened his previously shut eyes. The world around him came into focus, and he did not even bother to look down to the circle he'd made for he already knew all was at it should be. The Force had been his guide, after all, he'd seen just without his mortal eyes.​

​

The shuura was a pleasant surprise, but more than that was his beloved. He pulled her down in to his lap, one hand gently caressing the small bump which had begun to form. Smaller than it ought to have been, though Arcturus did not know enough about such things to be aware of that. He hadn't been present for her first pregnancy, and even if he had that time had been twins. Much different.​

​

Still, even he could tell that something was a little... off. Maybe Rhi wasn't feeling so good? He broke the shuura in half with his bare hands, then offered her some as he quickly raised his hand and opened his mouth so the juices which flowed did not go to waste.​

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"Please, eat," he urged, "Are you well?"​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

She had intended to leave him to his work after offering the fruit, but he apparently finished the circle right as she arrived. Giggling as he pulled her down into his lap, she eased into him.

At least, until his hand crested her belly. The bump was small, almost barely noticeable. Up until recently, she had chalked it up to simply being uncertain of the gestation, but now she was confronted with the fact that the baby simply wasn’t growing at a normal rate.

Everything about this pregnancy was very different from her first. She’d had virtually no symptoms, whereas with the twins the sickness and other discomforts had been… intense. But again, she had initially blamed that on the fact that this was just one baby, not two. Everything was more intense with twins. And anyway, shouldn’t she be grateful that it wasn’t as bad this time around?

Arcturus interrupted her train of thought. “No,” she muttered, taking the piece of shuura from him. She’d had no cravings or increase in appetite, either, and forcing herself to eat more in an effort to compensate hadn’t helped. “Star should be… bigger, at this stage. I should be able to feel him move, but I can’t. I should be hungry and sick and tired all the time, but I’m not.” She laid her hand over his, her brow furrowed with worry. “I don’t know what to do, and I’m scared. I don’t want to lose him…”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

His body refused to let him cast aside the shuura right away, though he longed to do so in order to fully embrace Rhiannon when she made her concerns known. So he ate as quickly as he could, fast finding himself satiated, and wrapped his other hand around her to cradle hers which lay over his. Quite the layers of hands, at this point.​

​

"Close your eyes" he urged, leaning down to kiss behind her ear as though he could somehow pass his strength and will into her for the time being by doing so. He followed his own advice, and delved through the Force to try and make sense of it all, to feel things on a deeper level as Arthos Vynea had once taught him to do. He was not quite looking for the molecular level, not like many practitioners of the Small sought to do, but he definitely sought a more macro view of things.​

​

Something was wrong. His brows furrowed and his silence deepened as he forsake breath in favour of seeking yet more answers. ​

​

What he found was not at all what he had been hoping for. Quite the opposite. A damaged womb, and an impossible babe clinging just barely to life within it. When next he breathed, Arcturus found himself choking back an unexpected sob. His throat closed over, heart hammered against his chest, and his hand tightened around hers.​

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"Your new body was not meant to conceive" he whispered, as though unwilling to accept his own words as fact, "Our boy is strong... He fights to survive even now."​

​

A thousand thoughts, questions, answers, ran through his mind, and he did his best to process it all as best he could. Should he have lied to Rhiannon? Told her all was well even though he knew it was not? No. That was not the relationship they had, nor the one he wanted. He wanted to be open, honest, to face things head on with her, as a unit.​

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So what could he do? How could he fix this?​

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Because he would. He had to.​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Rhi did as he asked, shutting her eyes. She felt the Force ripple as he searched inside her, finding too-little Star.

She sensed his anguish, and knew he was about to tell her the last thing she wanted to hear. This body of hers, broken and pieced back together, reanimated and twisted to suit the visions of Sith alchemists, was not supposed to be able to carry a child. The fact that it had happened anyway was a miracle, but it was swiftly becoming unsustainable.

“Then something must be done,” she said, her voice strained. They could take him out of her and put him in an exowomb—though she admittedly loathed the idea and all the consequences she could see unfolding from it. She would not want to have all her future children be grown in a lab, but... “We have to save him.”

But what to do?

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

That fatigue which had threatened to engulf him in the wake of days spent in toil was squished down, as he flowed the Force through his body and harnessed all manner of emotions to keep himself going. Sorrow, sheer love and determination, even a modicum of rage that such was happening. He made sure not to put any of that on Rhiannon though, his hands remained soft where they rested.​

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"We will." Then he exhaled, rested his head to her shoulder, and turned to kiss her cheek. "Do you trust me?"​

​

He had the feeling that in order for this to work, she'd have to. With every ounce of her being. And Arcturus knew that likely wasn't fair to ask of her.​

​

Arcturus had done a lot of studying in his time. He'd looked into archaic Sith practices, but his Master had also encouraged him to look outside the box, to research other sects both present and in the distant past, to better understand the Force. He was a bookworm, drawn to the archives, and he recalled one book in particular pertaining to the Luminous Mist.​

​

Knowing the theory and putting it into practice was two different things though. Knowing that they could draw upon the Force to forge physical strands which could be weaved and painted with did not mean that he could do it too.​

​

For this to work, he'd need more than just himself. It might have been wiser for them to go elsewhere but Arcturus already felt a strengthened bond with this Grotto. He felt stronger here, and with the tear he'd formed in the veil between realms he'd need to be here. To call upon the Nether, to find the missing pieces which had not passed back over with her the first time.​

​

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled forth a comm device and tapped into the frequency of his beloved Beholder, activating the brain to see it brought to them. In the meantime, he held her close.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“Absolutely,” Rhi replied. “You are my rock, my foundation, my…” She trailed off vaguely, smiling faintly. “I’m not very good with words, but you get the idea. I trust you completely.”

He was all that and more to her, but she had been trying to go with a theme that suited his role as God of the Underworld. Remembering the piece of shuura still in her hand, she started to eat it, though her thoughts were on other things. The rest of the food she had brought held little appeal to her now, but she made herself eat for the sake of Star. Anything to at least feel like she was trying to keep him alive, rather than letting him succumb to her deathtrap of a womb.

It wasn’t fair, making him pay the price for her failure, her lack of training, her foolishness and hubris. Consequences for the sins of the mother shouldn’t be inflicted on the child...

Arc seemed to be planning something, though he didn’t speak a word of it to her. When he pulled out his comlink and called Beholder, she looked up at him. “What are you going to do?” she asked.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

There was no hesitation as Rhiannon gave her response, and Arcturus felt much of the anger falling to the wayside only to be replaced by love, adoration, and sheer dedication. He would do this for her. For his wife, his beloved, his Goddess. And for the son she carried in her womb.​

​

As Beholder came through the opening in the ceiling of the grotto, drifting down to hover over the water quite majestically, Arcturus swept Rhiannon off her feet and walked with her to the edge of the water. "I need supplies" he said, though he soon realized that it wasn't a great answer to the question she'd had. He glanced down at her, holding her bridal style, and managed a small smile to try and break the tension.​

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"I'm going to bring you back, fully back. It's not going to be easy, but... I have faith, you are strong, Starlin is strong, together we can do this."​

​

He brought her up onto the ship, and glanced over the trio of children who awaited beyond.​

​

"Pharus," he called initially, for the eldest "Please, go upstairs to my study and find a datacron entitled The Book of Luminous Mist. It will be on the bookshelf to the left of the door." Not waiting to see it done, he looked to Eloise and Marcus next. "Bring me towels, and a white dress for mama."​

​

Still carrying her, he brought her toward the hoverlift which brought them up to the top of the waters of restoration tank which enveloped the core of the ship. First step was first, heal her physically as best he could, ensure her vessel was primed and ready for the ritual he'd have to put them through.​

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"It might be cold" he whispered, as he gently eased her down into the water-like substance. "I want you to try and relax, Rhi, meditate if you can, while I get everything ready, okay? All will be well, one way or another, this I swear to you."​

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He kissed her, then released her.​

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Ishani Dinn​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“Whoa, okay…” Rhi murmured as she was scooped up, quickly wrapping her arms around his neck to better support her weight. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

"I need supplies."

“For what?” she asked.

He smiled at her. She smiled back, until he finally gave her a real answer. “Bring me back?” she echoed. “You mean, a full restoration?” But how?

Her head dipped back as the shadow of the Beholder fell over them. Aboard, she found the children waiting for them. Marcus and Eloise both ran up to embrace her, unaware that anything was amiss. They snapped to like good little soldiers when Arc gave them orders.

“Okay, Daddy!” Eloise said, running off to do as she was bid, Marcus in tow. They returned not long after with towels and a white dress—the very same she had worn to her wedding. Rhi thought about sending Eloise back to get another, but in the end she accepted it. The fabric would not be ruined by whatever was to come.

Pharus was more reluctant to obey. He had been hanging back, observing them from afar, and bristled when Arc asked him to get the datacron. “Don’t you have servants? Why must I fetch your things?” he asked.

Rhi suppressed a weary sigh. “I don’t know, Pharus. To be kind to your mother, perhaps?”

Arc may have said more to him before they took the lift up to the pool. Rhi hugged and kissed the twins, telling them she was just going for a swim. Everything would be all right.

But by the time Arc lowered her into the water, she was more nervous than she was willing to admit. Rhi still trusted her husband with her life, and faith in his solution—but the unknown of it all was enough to rattle her.

Arc asked her to relax. She cupped his face between her wet hands. “I’m bad at meditating,” she said, a poor attempt at a joke. With a final kiss goodbye, she sunk down into the water, submerging herself completely.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Yes... A full restoration."​

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Arcturus waited until the twins were out of earshot before responding to Pharus' angsty questions. "I do not keep servants, I know what it is to be a slave." He peered down at Rhi, then back to the blonde haired boy, "Please, if not for us then for the innocent babe she carries."​

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Hoping that would be enough to spur him on, the children returned and he had them set down their gathered items to one side. "Daddy will be back in a minute, okay? Why don't you go sit with the jellyfish, my loves?"​

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Soon he was submerging her in the water, and he could sense her nerves, her fears. He allowed his kiss to linger, one hand lightly drifting against her cheek, and then she was gone, lost beneath the restorative waters.​

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Arcturus wasted no time, he hastened his way back down to the main floor and began to gather up items from various storage holds. Incense, candles, dried herbs, sand, a flask of water taken from the River of Souls (right now it just looked like mundane old water), and a set of etching tools.​

​

With any luck Pharus would do as he'd been bid and find the book he needed.​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Pharus relented. It was such a small thing, the request, and his refusal was petty. He would have to pick his battles.

He went and retrieved the datacron, handing it silently over to Arc. The twins had gone to hang out with the jellyfish, though there was an air of anxious expectation about them. No one had told them anything, but they were observant and could tell something was wrong. Something their father intended to remedy.

Finally, Pharus couldn’t help his curiosity. “What are you going to do?” he asked, watching Arc gather materials.

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"We" he corrected, as Pharus questioned what he was planning on doing, "I'd like you to do it with me." He very purposely did not state that he was looking for help, that would diminish it back down to seeming like the job of a servant and Pharus was no such thing. ​

​

"We..." he huffed slightly as he pulled out a particularly heavy box from a low down position, it was made of a heavy wood. "... are going to be performing a ritual that will see Rhiannon truly united with her body. Whoever brought her back from the Netherworld left part of her behind. I plan on... a full restoration."​

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He stood to his full height, allowing that box to remain where it lay, and looked the boy in the eye like he was a peer. "It's going to take a lot to pull off, I could really use your help."​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Pharus Dystra]

"We. I'd like you to do it with me."

Pharus managed to stifle a groan, but couldn't quite keep the exasperated look from his face. "How?" he asked. "I'm not trained. I don't know anything about the Force, let alone the Netherworld..."

Watching Arcturus struggle to drag a heavy wooden box, Pharus grimaced, before finally giving in and helping him with it. He would probably have to fetch more things, but at this point he had accepted his role as errand boy, at least for now. Anything for the sake of getting this over with faster.

"Tell me what to do, then."

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"I've never been the type for classroom training" he explained, grateful when the lad took up the other side of the box without even having to be asked. A marked difference, to be sure. "I prefer to teach by doing. There are lots of parts that need to come together to make a ritual potent, and I'd rather not journey into the Netherworld alone if I can help it."​

​

Okay so that last part was a lie, he was always jumping back and forth between the two planes, but he wanted Pharus to feel like more than just a replaceable cog in a machine. At least he seemed somewhat willing to participate.​

​

Together they hauled the necessary supplies outside, while Rhiannon continued her plunge. Arcturus led Pharus in forming a circle of candles, then showed him how to etch a series of runes into circles surrounding said candles. Incense was placed between the unlit votives, then small bundles which he and Pharus worked on putting together with natural twine at the various points of the dodecagram they'd formed. ​

​

"The idea is to draw upon a few different practices," he explained as they went, "A Nethermancy ritual, to soften the veil, the ancient work of the Mist-Weavers to serve as a physical focus and metaphor for rebirth, and then... well, then we'll be acting as guides to bring her back."​

​

He knew that Pharus was likely very skeptical, not only of the process but of the part he could realistically play in it. "I believe in you" he stated, "Next time, we'll do something you want to learn, okay?"​

​

Pharus Dystra ​

 

[Pharus Dystra]

“I’m not going into the Netherworld with you,” Pharus said flatly. Obviously he was terrified, but at the same time this was more of the usual rebellion. He was digging his heels in as much as he could, resisting in any way possible.

He helped with setting things up, which just involved fetching and placing various objects. Candles, incense, bundles bound with twine, and runes etched in the dirt. Arc tried to explain the purpose of everything, but Pharus didn’t understand any of it. To him it all sounded like a bunch of mumbo jumbo.

On the other hand, he had seen Arcturus’ power in action, and had even watched Rhiannon make the crops grow. He knew their power was very real and frightening. But he didn’t know how it all worked.

"Next time, we'll do something you want to learn, okay?"

Pharus opened his mouth to refuse, to say he didn’t want to learn anything from the people who had destroyed his life, but then closed it so quickly his teeth clacked together. Maybe… maybe he could use this knowledge. Maybe the training would give him the power he needed to exact revenge one day…

“Fine,” he muttered, looking away. “I suppose you want me to go fetch Mrs. Dinn now?”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Arcturus didn't press the topic of the Netherworld any further, not in that moment at least, and instead focused on laying the groundwork for their ritual. He could tell the boy wasn't paying a whole heap of attention, that he didn't really want any part in this, but much to his credit he still did his part and as such they were done rather swiftly.​

​

When he spoke about fetching Rhiannon he shook his head slowly.​

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"I told you, you're not some servant, Pharus, not an errand boy." Was now the time to really get into this? He supposed a little extra time in the tank wouldn't hurt, if anything it might help. So he let out a slight sigh. "I... I was a slave once." He'd paused them at the foot of the boarding ramp, not yet able to turn and face him. "I had my family taken from me, too. My home, my everything. Left to the mercy of cruel and vindictive Masters. This isn't that, Pharus. This will never be that."​

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He turned then, gaze soft as he tried to meet Pharus'. "I did not take your parents from you, I would never, ever, have done that. What I did back on Eliad, I did so that you would remain alive. So that your ancestral home would remain in your hands, not some yes-man the Sith chose. I know you think of me as some monster, and being that I have ties to the Order I do not blame you, but.. I just wanted you to know all of that. You are here now because it is safer than Eliad, or Sith Space, because we want what is best for you, even if you don't believe it."​

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Letting out a slow breath, to expel the horrid ball of emotions he'd just dragged up within himself, Arcturus looked away. "Now, I shall go and fetch my wife... and then we'll see about saving Starlin, okay?" He realized that they hadn't told the children the name of the babe in Rhiannon's belly yet and did a double take. "Don't tell Marcus or Eloise yet, okay? They'll lose their minds if they realize Marcus was right about it being a little brother."​

​

Something only Pharus knew. He was the eldest, it was only right, even if he didn't see himself as part of the clan.​

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Pharus Dystra ​

 

[Pharus Dystra]

Pharus listened, the scowl on his face unmoving, as if set in stone. Arc’s words made a kind of sense. It was reasonable, what he said. Pharus listened and understood, but he did not care.

“I’m not you,” was all he said, rather than the defiant, insulting words he had stored away in his mind. No, he would not roll over and show these Sith his belly like a damned dog just because they gave him treats rather than killing him. If he learned their ways, it would be to use that knowledge against them. He would not back down, bend over, or bow.

"Don't tell Marcus or Eloise yet, okay? They'll lose their minds if they realize Marcus was right about it being a little brother."

Pharus merely shrugged, as if to say Why would I ever talk to a couple of little kids anyway? The secret was safe, if only because of that.

---

Aboard the Beholder, Rhiannon was still submerged. She lay curled up on her side at the bottom of the pool, her arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. With the Force, she had tried to strengthen Star. But it was her who was the problem, not him. He could be the strongest of babies, but as long as her body couldn’t sustain him, he was doomed…

Sensing Arc’s return, she opened her eyes and sat up. The strange “water” of the pool dripped off her with ease, leaving her dry. “Is it time?” she asked anxiously, looking at him.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

It would have been easy to regret opening up; Arcturus didn't regret it.​

​

A step, however small, was something, and he hoped that in time they could slowly chisel away at more. For now? Well, for now he simply sighed and patted the lads shoulder before he turned to walk away.​

​

Inside, Rhiannon was already waiting for him. Arcturus smiled up at her, and took the lift to bring her the dress the children had chosen. Her wedding dress no less. "I can find something else if you would prefer?" he offered, "Though I think it's sweet."​

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Whatever her decision, he helped her to dress then lifted her up off her feet once more. Slow, gentle, as though she was fragile. In this moment, she really was.​

​

Soon they were stepping out into the grotto, and the ritual place came into view immediately. They had set up beneath the hole in the cave, where the tree grew despite all odds. "Do you trust me?" he asked again, well aware of how frightening it might have been to look upon, how daunting and overwhelming. At their approach, he looked to Pharus once more.​

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"Are you ready?"​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

"I can find something else if you would prefer? Though I think it's sweet."

“Oho, that dress is indestructible. Trust me,” she said, pulling it on over her head. “The waist is above my belly, so it isn’t restrictive, and I look fantastic in it. But you already know that.”

She let him pick her up, though she could’ve just as easily walked. Like her, he probably needed to feel like he was doing something to help, even beyond performing the ritual. Carrying her fulfilled that anxious need.

"Do you trust me?"

“You asked me that earlier. My answer hasn’t changed.” She kissed his temple. “I will do anything for our children. I would die for them.” She didn’t think it would come down to that, but if anything went wrong, it was something he should know.

"Are you ready?"

Pharus shrugged. “Yeah.”

Arcturus Dinn​