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This battle was really not going well. They were outnumbered, and her allies kept getting knocked down. She was trying to focus on fighting but as one with a strong affinity for healing this was hard for her.
She finally gave into her healing urges when Pipin got knocked off his feet and thrown a ways back. Her outfit quickly switched to her Healing attire and she ran over to him and she cast a barrier, aether transforming as her hand passed by it. She completed her barrier when she was right in front of him, eyes locking with her enemies as she reinforced it. They brought their swords down but it was not enough to break the barrier. Satisfied with that she spun around and cast 2 Essential Dignities, then added a quick Aspected Benefic before starting a Benefic II but she stopped when Pipin waved a hand and said humorously, “Enough of that, I am practically a new man.”
As he sat up she pouted before nearly knocking him on his back again as she threw her arms around him and shouted with anger and worry and a sense of hopelessness, “Do not poke fun at me, I was worried for you!”
He wrapped his arms around her as he heard her sniffle, then whispered to her “We are not safe yet,” as he heard the barrier cracking. She heard it too and flipped to the side, hurriedly helping him to his feet just before it shattered. She was slightly in front of him which was absolutely not where he wanted her to be and he quickly pushed her behind him with one arm as he stepped forward and blocked an attack. It clearly took a fair bit of effort, and she hid anxiously behind him as she looked around at the carnage.
Her hope, her desire to help others, it was there. She just needed tranquility to bring the stars down. So she took a couple deep breaths before praying quietly, “Stars above, let me use your power to help these poor souls!”
The stars heeded her wish, and golden stardust fell. It stopped the battle for half a second as everyone looked around in bewilderment. Besides Pipin, who looked back at her as he asked, “Are you turning the tide of battle?”
He was assuming she had a plan and had not called the stardust for no reason. He had heard the prayer, so he knew she was doing something to help them. She gave him a small nod before she said, “Keep protecting me, I cannot cast this particular spell while being attacked.”
As the enemy pushed through their amazement his blade met their enemies again as he told her, “You hardly need to ask!”
She smiled, then lifted her astrodome into the air as she closed her eyes and concentrated. She pulled the stardust into it and blue ribbons of light cascaded over her as she began her incantation.
“O’ Althyk, harken to me! Lend to me a moment of your time for this spell of mine! By this spell, let time stop for me!”
She brought her star globe down and swiped her arm to the side, and time stopped. Every enemy and ally froze as the image of a clock and chains appeared over them. A sparkling blue fog covered the ground as she stepped into her own spell, being the only one capable of moving.
The others were aware that time stopped. Their eyes could still move, and they followed her as she stepped away from Pipin. Then she bent over, suddenly showing weakness as she tried to breath out her exhaustion before asking rather loudly, “Why is borrowing power greater than your own just as exhausting as using your own?”
With a couple more breaths she righted herself, then began to look around as she said, “Well since I seem to be a fan of borrowing power that is not mine, there is another spell of great magnitude I can use.”
Her Limit Break 3 was ready. It had a specific range so she moved to a spot where she could reach just about every injured ally, then brought her star globe to her chest. She crossed both arms above it then lifted it with a flourish into the air high above her. It shone with brilliant blue light and her cards weaved around her as she began to float, then she brought her arms down slowly as she commanded with serenity, “Astral Stasis.”
A turquoise dome surrounded the perimeter of her spell, the inside being full of bright blue and golden stardust that exploded. You could see every constellation decorated in bright lights, and the healing power exuding from them empowered every ally she had. Those that had not yet reached death’s door were revived, and all injuries were healed.
But time was still stopped, and the effects would not be shown until after she lifted the spell. So she stepped back to where she had cast the spell, where it was strongest, and lifted her star globe again. It spun in her palm as the blue ribbons spun around her and she incited, “My business is ended, and fate respun. Thus it is time that time had once again begun. Release.”
The fog lifted straight into the air and burst into stardust as the chains were undone. The sigils were lifted last, and the effects of her spell were revealed. Those fallen soldiers blossomed with life, and all her allies were at full strength and health. The second he could move again, Pipin flipped towards her and asked in complete amazement, “How in the name of the Twelve did you do that?”
“‘Tis simply a spell of great magnitude.” Her voice was mysterious, and it had earned her quite a bit of confusion from her allies. From her enemies she received horrified and terrified looks as they asked, “What are you?!”
Sunana spun her astrodome under her hand and took out a card, holding it to her lips before she let it dissolve into the air as she said “I am an astrologian, a mage that draws power from the stars.”
It was a simple explanation for such phenomenal cosmic power. Just to scare them she put down Earthly Star, then looked to Pipin as she said, “I will explain more after the battle.”
He nodded to her, then called for the troops to press forward. The terror she had placed in their enemy gave them an advantage, and the battle was won.
-
As they walked back to camp their soldiers were all giving her amazed looks, and the ones that had returned before them were apparently spreading rumors. When she and Pipin returned to the military leaders the first thing Raubahn said was, “Care to explain this rumor going around that you are capable of controlling time itself?”
“‘Tis no simple rumor Father, it is the truth.” How could one question Pipin’s honesty when he sounded so genuinely amazed? And yet, such an achievement sounded so unbelievable. It would make more sense if they saw it for themselves, so Sunana stepped forward and pointed to a wooden strategy piece. Pipin walked forward and picked it up, tossing it over to her before he asked, “Would you be using too much magic by casting that spell again?”
She smiled, replying simply, “The more power required, the more magic it uses. To use it on such a small scale should not be too taxing.”
She lifted her star dome once again, and those blue ribbons of light cascaded over her as she began her incantation purposefully.
“O’ Althyk, harken to me! Lend to me a moment of your time for this spell of mine! By this spell, let time stop for me!”
When she said the word “stop” she threw the piece into the air, and at the end of her statement she swiped her hand to the side, casting the spell. The wooden piece stopped in mid air, frozen in time as the clock sigil and chains surrounded it. The blue fog circled around it, and as everyone gasped in amazement she reached into the fog, manipulating the piece before taking her hand away. Lyse got curious and reached for it but stopped when Sunana said, “Are you truly foolish enough to reach into a temporal displacement?”
“You can reach into it!” She sounded very upset that she couldn’t sate her curiosity, and Sunana smiled as she said, “Because the spell was cast by my hand, obviously. Only I can manipulate it.”
With her point made she chose to undo the spell, so she lifted and spun her astrodome in her palm and let the blue lights spin around her as she stated the incantation that would free the piece from its time prison.
“My business is ended, and fate respun. Thus it is time that time had once again begun. Release.”
The fog and chains dispersed into stardust first, then the sigil disappeared. As it did the piece dropped into her hand, and it seemed none the worse for wear. She walked over to the table to put it back, and when she put it back Pipin placed a hand on her shoulder as he said, “It looked rather exhausting to use it to the magnitude you did before. You were reckless.”
She gave a humorous huff as she said, “I was not reckless enough to use my own magical reserves for a spell of that magnitude. However, playing host to power beyond your mortal limits can be just as exhausting as using your own. Though of course it still is much less dangerous than relying on one’s own power.”
“Where did you obtain the power to use the spell you used after it? The one that seemed to raise the dead?” Ah, it did seem to raise the dead, did it not. But she was no necromancer, she could not raise the dead. She leaned against the table as she explained matter of factly, “I did not raise the dead. I could only rescue those that had not quite reached death’s doorstep. Though what the spell truly does is empower the living and raise them to the height of their health and strength. It is not a spell I can always use, it is referred to as a limit break move.”
“What is a limit break?” asked Pipin, and she replied, “I have a separate energy reserve that gathers energy during a battle any time someone attacks, receives an attack, or is healed. When that reserve is full I am capable of using that spell. It is difficult to perform while being attacked, hence my decision to stop time and provide a moment of safety to cast my spell.”
She could tell from the look on Pipin’s face that he was reliving the moment, and the others were still giving her impressed looks. Then Pipin gave her an impressed smile as he stated, “Well, it certainly did wonders for morale, and terrified the Garleans besides.”
Sunana laughed, noting with great humor, “Oh indeed, considering that most are unable to use magic, seeing such powerful magic brought against them must be frightening indeed.”
Raubahn folded his arms, giving her a smile as he noted casually, “A great many of our soldiers have begun calling you a ‘sorceress over time’.” And Sunana immediately replied sassily while looking toward Pipin, “At least they are not calling me a goddess, that would be insulting to Althyk. My spell is my own, though I did pay respect to him so I may make use of His Realm. After all, gods do not typically like when mortals meddle in their affairs.”
Pipin knew exactly why she had looked at him, and he gave her a confident smile as he pulled her over to him and said, “Oh do not pretend you dislike when I call you my goddess of destruction.”
She began to giggle when she was wrapped in his arms, because truly she didn’t. Only because she was his goddess of destruction, not the goddess of destruction. So it was not disrespectful to Rhalgr, it was simply him putting her on a pedestal. She made that clear as she stated, “There is a difference between being your goddess of destruction and being the goddess of destruction, and that difference is what shields you from disrespecting the divine!”
“That so? I suppose you would know better than anyone, having as many divine blessings as you do.” He kissed her cheek, and she nearly melted with embarrassment. No matter how long they had been together, she never got any better at handling his natural charm, especially not when mixed with blatant physical affection in front of others. So she shoved her face in his shoulder to muffle an embarrassed whine, and she heard Lyse say, “She may be peerlessly powerful but she’s no match for you, Marshal.”
Pipin laughed, as did most everyone, and her fire stirred as she muffled another embarrassed whine. He sympathetically patted her head as he said, “I fear I fare no better than anyone against her in combat, but matters of love are always more complicated than combat.”
“Aye, but ‘tis still complicated. Shall we review the plans?” Raubahn was back to business, and the others nodded as they reviewed the map. Sunana remained buried in Pipin’s shoulder, though her ears were pricked to the sounds of the conversation. She just simply didn’t want to leave this little safe haven yet, tucked in darkness with gentle but strong arms around her. She knew he would let her stay there as long as she wanted, so she did.