Deep Meditation in India

[Akirapryde]

Rebecca set there on her knees, meditating while the fire crackled near her. The late night mountain air was crisp causing her warm breath to become visible. The moon was in its second crescent and was riding high in the sky. There was something peaceful here in these magically created valleys. When Simon had stated that they were finished here, Rebecca and Kira opted to remain behind. When asked, Rebecca told Richard that it was for personal reasons and she reminded Richard that Simon had suggested the Cabal seek a break and possibly a mini vacation.

Rebecca would make a point to let Richard know that remaining behind was to help Kira in her search for a Spirit familiar. She would ask for Richard to give them two days, before returning for them. She explained to Richard, if there would be any problems they would send up their flare for him to detect. With a smile on her face, she would tell Richard, “look at it like this, you have a chance to spend some valuable ‘Bro Time’ with Simon.”

These two days would be devoted to helping Kira in her search for a familiar. For as long as Rebecca had known Kira, she had talked about having her own familiar. Now that Simon had granted Rebecca her own familiar, Rebecca felt a need to help Kira in her own search. Beyond that, a little sister time for Rebecca and Kira was a great distraction for Rebecca.

Rebecca knew all too well that she needed to get away from everything. Rebecca slowly opened her eyes and glanced over at Kira who was silently sleeping near the fire. Her eyes slowly shifted from a sleeping Kira to the fire pit. She saw Infir within the fire pit, she watched him enjoying local timber. Rebecca wondered if the spirit could tell the difference between fuels. She thought about the distraction but her mind went back to what she was troubling her.

This valuable time would allow Kira and Rebecca some much needed time to talk about ‘family’. The sudden arrival of Fredrick created a new unwanted twist in Rebecca’s life. Rebecca hated her paranoia from time to time. She hated that she felt this sudden sense of doom that came with Fredrick’s arrival. For so long, none of her family beside her father had reached out to her. She paused for a moment, ‘well that’s not completely true’ she thought.

There was that was one time when her cousin Tristin and Vincent had visited her and Kira in collage. Because that weekend was the weekend that Rebecca was attacked while at a party, she nearly forgot about the surprise unannounced visit. Rebecca willed her mind to move from that horrible night. A tear welled up through her eye lids as she fought back the images of that nightmare moment of her life. Rebecca had more important things to focus on. Rebecca wished she could see past her paranoia and understand what is really going on.

Her magical sights had always been a foundation of Rebecca’s understanding of the magical world around her. Before she met Arruin, her magical sights were the upper limit of her magical abilities. She had attempted to experiment with some of her other abilities with less than desirable results. In fact, all her life her magical abilities had been less than desirable even for a novice. She was a laughing stock of her family and those that knew her.

For the majority of her awakened life, Rebecca learned to lean heavily upon her magical sights. Even at its limited abilities, it was all Rebecca had to relate to the supernatural world around her. However, all that changed the very day that Kira and her went to that warehouse and they met Arruin. From that moment, it was like something inside her woke up and she saw the magical world around her in completely different eyes.

Rebecca couldn’t explain it. Her entire world and the way she looked at the world had changed. It was like a door deep within the magical being that was Rebecca had opened. Looking back, before that night Rebecca felt like she was looking upon the magical world through windows instead of actually being a part of it. Now that that door was opened to her, Rebecca walked through. For the first time she felt as if she actually belonged within this magical world. The only way she could explain it, it was as if she had actually experienced her awakening. This feeling of a renewed awakening placed Rebecca on the path that brought face to face with her passion, Fire!

Through her sights, she could feel the fire just within arms’ reach of her. Slowly Rebecca rose to her feet. Rebecca reached out with her emotions as felt the warmth and energy of the nearby fire. She could feel the ‘heartbeat’ of the fire as it reacted to her magical powers. Rebecca slowly moved through her movements as she focused on controlling the fire near her. Rebecca believed that Fire was not only about destruction or power. That it was also rooted deeply in to life itself. Fire was what Rebecca inspired to be like, pure and incorruptible.

As Rebecca moved through her motions, she felt Infir following her. Rebecca wanted nothing more than to be one with Infir, to become pure as fire. As she slowly moved through her motioned Rebecca felt her fears and her paranoia slip from her mind and she was able to feel the fire around her. She couldn’t beat this feeling. It was that sensation of fire which came over her while she slowly moved through her positions. Finally, she was able refocus her mind on the situation at hand.

Rebecca closed her eyes once more as she continued to work through her motions. Her mind started to look deeper in to the situation with Fredrick and his search for a known villain. It was a very troubling situation that had come to pass. For as long as she could remember she had a rough relationship with her older brothers and cousin. She had never been good enough to be considered ‘One of Them.’ For Rebecca she was happy just being part of their world. Sharing their successes and being supportive during their failures.

For Rebecca’s family, this wasn’t good enough for them. Image was everything to them and Rebecca was a blight to that image. It was because of this, Rebecca was treated less than an equal by her brothers. She was sure that they loved her, and this never changed how she saw and loved her brothers. For her, this treatment was nothing more than sibling rivalry. A rivalry that as a child, and later teenager, laughed the behavior off as nothing more than play.

Even though she never measured up, Rebecca did her best to train and reach the level as her brothers. For each and every one of her brothers, magic came easily. Even to critics of the Lone Star Silver Ladder, the Pander brothers were seen as prodigies within their Paths. For Rebecca, each and every spell was a personal struggle. But this struggle gave Rebecca a renewed strength and faith within herself. It was because of this personal inner strength, Rebecca never stopped pushing herself. She never stopped trying to earn her brother’s respect and to have them see her as a part of their world.

In the back of her mind she could hear their laughter as memories of training with them came to mind. She heard Fredric calling out above the shouts of joy, “come on, HIT HER AGAIN!” The memories were of one of her last training sessions with her brothers. She was locked within a Duel Arcane with Tristin, her cousin. For Rebecca, it more like a lesson in taking a beating than a duel. Once again, Rebecca was outmatched and out skilled. There wasn’t even any hope of defending herself against the waves of attacks.

Tristin was the latest member to the Pander family and Rebecca’s cousin. Like Rebecca, Tristin was a Obrimos. Unlike Rebecca, Tristin was a powerful Obrimos with strong skills and vested knowledge in her Arcanas. To Rebecca’s surprise, Tristin was a lot like Richard in many ways. She was a natural spell caster who prided herself on being cleverer than her opponents. And even worse than Richard, Tristin knew how to use a person’s desires against them. She younger than Rebecca and beautiful. Tristin knew how to use her body and appeal to get everything she wanted.

Rebecca was so jealous of Tristin, because Tristin had the respect of Rebecca’s brothers the first week she moved in. Since the very first days that Tristin came to Rebecca’s family, she had managed to capture the hearts and minds of Rebecca’s brothers. This made Rebecca earning their respect even harder. But still, Rebecca never once stopped trying even though she never stood a chance. For with Tristin, it was like someone had opened the door and a black widow crawled in to Rebecca’s family. This creature set her sights on Vincent, the oldest of Rebecca’s brothers and a powerful Mastigos. After winning Vincent’s heart, the rest easily slipped in to line with little effort.

While Rebecca was jealous of Tristin, it became clear that Tristin hated Rebecca. At first Rebecca didn’t really pick up on the hatred. After all, Tristin was family and Rebecca was raised to honor family. More than that, Tristin was Lone Star. And for Rebecca that meant their bonds were stronger than family. As Tristin gained status within the Lone Star as being a ruthless duelist and a Obrimos without match, Rebecca slowly became aware that Tristin wanted Rebecca out of the way.

It came down to a simple request from Tristin to Vincent that turned Rebecca’s world upside down. Behind closed doors, Tristin begged that Rebecca was not fit to be a Pander. The debate between Vincent and Rebecca’s father raged in to the early morning. At the end, Rebecca’s father finally agreed and sent Rebecca off to college. It was the last time Rebecca saw Vincent or Tristin. Well, till the day before that night. The pair came to visit Rebecca at college.

The visit was such a surprise to Rebecca. The three meet in private over lunch. Tristin wanted to apologize for taking their rivalry too far. That she wanted to mend the broken bridges between them. It was music to Rebecca’s ears. They even suggested coming home for longer visits. Tristin offered to help Rebecca better understand her powers and realize her potential. The offer made Rebecca’s day. She was so happy that when Kira suggested them going to that party, Rebecca was more than willing to celebrate. And that was the night that Rebecca was drugged and attacked!