Dumb Displaced Fic Chapter 49

Luna was loath to do this, but she found herself with little other option. She stalked the halls of the Dream Realm, looking for a particular door. Normally she found the idea of stalking a sleeper in their dreams to be distasteful. Hers was the role of guardian of all dreams. It felt like an abuse of that power and duty.

And yet, there was someone she desperately needed to talk to; someone who was proving devilishly difficult to track down in the waking world. That someone being the current High Priest of the Cult of Blood.

In the month and a half since Fluttershy’s kidnapping Luna and those directly under her had done all they could to find and stamp out this cult, but they had proven experts at evading detection. Even when they did capture one or two cult members, they had proven all but impervious to interrogation and often had little information to begin with.

However, in the last week her desire to find the High Priest had taken on a different flavor. It had been two weeks since the captivity of Ranma’s soul had been brought to light. Neither Luna nor Celestia’s contacts with the greater cosmos had borne any fruit. Luna had never been the most patient of the two sisters and with the very soul of someone she loved at stake, that impatience had quickly boiled over.

Thus her current course of action, if she couldn’t get information from her usual sources, she’d simply have to find an unusual source. One that was less savory than those her sister would prefer they associate themselves with. In short she was hoping to speak with the Formless Mother directly and see if she knew anything.

Luna knew she could hold her own if things went south, but it wasn’t a plan without its own risks. Still, Luna wouldn’t rest until she had exhausted every avenue available to her. While in theory she could directly contact the Formless Mother, it could take weeks of searching to find a totem or catalyst she resonated with to get her attention. This was the more expedient course of action.

Of course, this plan wasn’t also without its difficulties. There was the small matter of breaking any enchantments that hid the High Priest’s dreams from her. This was actually her second night going over the dream realm with a fine tooth comb, looking for the slightest irregularity that could indicate a concealed dream.

There! The smallest of flickers, a blink and you miss it shimmer! No concealment spell was completely perfect and Luna’s persistence had paid off. With a twist of magic and will, the spell was ineloquently ripped from its metaphysical moorings to reveal the dream door she had been looking for. She didn’t much care if she was noticed; she was seeking an audience anyway.

She opened the door and strode through it, finding herself in a black morass. She cast her gaze about, looking for the High Priest somewhere in the murk. She also extended her magical awareness. She would find the High Priest even if they didn’t want to be found.

“Servant of the Formless Mother, I would speak with your patron!” Luna called out. From out of the gloom the figure of the Changeling emerged.

“And why would you wish an audience with the one true goddess?” The Changeling drawled.

“A matter of souls,” Luna said. The high priest seemed somewhat surprised by this answer.

“And why should I call forth the Great Mother?” The Changeling asked.

“A pint of my blood,” Luna said. As much as she was reluctant to offer such a prize, she knew it would speed along negotiations. The high priest’s eyes went wide.

“Very well,” Was the curt reply, “Wait just a moment.”

The High Priest faded back into the shadows. Luna waited patiently and soon enough the High Priest reappeared with an icon of some kind.

“Make your payment of blood and this will grant you audience,” The Changeling told her. Luna took the icon and quickly left. No sense tempting fate by staying in enemy territory longer than necessary.

Now, to make the preparations to make this meeting as safe as she could.

Author's Note

I tried to include the whole scene with the Formless Mother in this chapter, but this month has stretched me so thin I couldn't get it to a place I liked.

My head

This has not been a happy month.

The good:
DawnTrail is my favorite expansion so far. It's amazing.

The Bad:
Dad and Sister finally had an explosive fight. She's threatening to not pay rent anymore and he threatened to kick her out if she did.

I've had to start physical therapy, to which I'm going two hours a day twice a week because I've been experiencing pain in every part of my body. They're currently trying to schedule me for an MRI to see if I have a pinched nerve or something in my back.

My PC died. As far as I can tell the AIO cooler has completely given up the ghost. It took me a week, but I managed to get a cheap little air cooler as a patch job until I can save up for a full replacement.

Finally, my Dad has decided to take it upon himself to comment on everything I eat. I'm eating a salad? I should have added more celery or used different lettuce. I'm eating a pork chop I cooked myself? "Oh you're adding too much salt that's why you're having pains" even though I've told him the doctor said salt had nothing to do with it and the one food the doctor told me to avoid: tomatoes, I have been avoiding.

I'm this close to tell him to stick his opinions up his ass until and unless I ask for them.

So yeah, my stress levels are reaching critical and I don't know what to do or if I should keep writing or put everything on hiatus until I can get some control to where it isn't trashing the quality of my writing.