Anabel kicked the covers from her body and wondered why she was so hot while sleeping next to such a cold body. She moved a bit, trying to distance herself from Allistar and he still sought her out.
His arm reaching out towards her, looking for her. She smiled even as she was annoyed. She turned her back to him and mumbled. "I can not sleep next to you like that. You are making me too hot."
Allistar chuckled and slid closer to her. He pressed closer to her and suddenly sensed that she had moved to the edge of the bed. His body subtly changed next to her. The frostiness turned cool and refreshing and her body did not feel like it needed to warm itself to survive but instead felt relaxed and soothed. She pressed into him more and did not notice when he pulled her away from the bed's edge.
Her mind cleared as she drifted off to sleep. A smile spreading across her lips.
She dreamed.
It seemed like she dreamed often when she slept next to him. She entered a plane deep green in color. She stood in the arch of a vast cave. The arch of the cave was steepled in the middle and it was thick, rounded, and thin white vines densely curled around it, burrowing into the porous rock like thread through soft fabric. The green plane seemed to breathe as a central point rhythmically rose and lowered. She stepped out onto the loamy green ground. She felt the soil, the animals within, and the different minerals and nutrients within. The entire plane quivered as she dug her toes into the soft ground. She looked up with a smile. Her eyes began drifting in thought as she looked across the plane. Soon a gentle song entered into her being. It swirled and twisted within her as it nourished her being.
The song changed and her mind filled with thoughts of Allistar. As she thought to center herself and focus her thoughts feelings fluttered through her heart and a part of her soul swelled and ached. The green plane's "breathing" slowed and became a serene subtle melody that aligned itself with the song. It caused her to frown and she consciously looked out across the plane.
As her eyes focused on a distant high hill she saw him. She saw his smile and she filled up again. Her body warmed and subtly became different. The spirit well within her stirred and her magics ignited. Her spirit beings' eyes rose to the deep blue sky above them. Her spirit well trembled as the changes took hold.
She sat on the soft loamy ground and smiled.
Anabel felt like she had slept well that night. When she woke her stress and worry had seemed to break away from her like it never existed.
When she understood where she was and who she fell asleep with her body seemed to relax even more. Directly after this her senses seemed to wake and she smelled the food sitting on a table before the bed. She looked over and smelled her favorite foods. She frowned a bit as she smelled not only her favorite breakfast but two desserts she loved, her favorite late night snack and her favorite dinner. For a brief moment she found herself wondering how long she had slept. Then she realized Allistar wanted to please her and may not have known exactly what she may want to eat and decided to bring her all of her favorites.
She smiled as she sat up looking at the steaming food and decided to start with a little morning dessert of fudge brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Anabel stood in one of the small courtyards of their home. Her eyes were tightly shut. A wind blew gently over the courtyard, but not a strand of her hair stirred.
Her eyes suddenly opened, black and sparkling like expensive gems, just as black runes began to shimmer before her. They waved like water and seemed to want to actually leave the space. Once seven lines of runes formed they moved making three circles that connected to each other by fine knots of magic causing the circles to form a large triangle before her.
The triangle of circles began moving in a clockwise motion, each circle smoothly clicking in the next position to its right. The motion began slow and then sped up in minute increments until their speed began to change exponentially and the circles moved so quickly that they seemed like a solid circular black beam of light before her.
Suddenly the black circle contracted to a pulsating pinpoint before her. Anabel pulled out a small box and tossed it into the air. The black pulsating dot seemed to splash onto the bottom of the box and spread out into black webbing across it. The box thrummed seven times, turned the purest blue color and became transparent.
Anabel's eyes reverted to their natural color and she placed the box back into a dimensional pocket.
She stood up straight and took a few deep breaths preparing to begin a new incantation.
"How many storage containers do you need mother."
She smiled as she turned to look at her son. "Good afternoon Jolan. How are you today."
Jolan returned his mother's smile. "I am fine mother. How are you? Marela told me that you've been making storage boxes and jars all day."
"Did she tell you that I am making most of them for her? She is continually creating things without the proper storage. We have already had three incidents this week from her creations. If there is not an abundance and variety of storage containers in the lab I am not sure what type of disaster may befall us all."
Jolan burst out in laughter. "Mother. You are being very dramatic aren't you? I even heard you had an incident in the lab yourself, when father first returned." He smiled at her as if to say he knew something she was hiding.
Anabel pursed her lips as she continued preparing for her next incantation. "And exactly why have you decided to visit me today darling?"
Jolan was impressed that she could add the word "darling". "I want to tell you that I am going to the Bologna Islands soon. I want to see the island at the center of the whirlpool. Can you please give me some items to help me?"
Anabel nodded as she closed her eyes and began to center herself. "Of course. Are you going alone or will Amethyst go with you?"
"Amethyst is going as well. She wants to ask you for some of your spirit beings to help her explore the island that she is interested in."
"She asked me last night. I plan on sending some with you as well and I have already told the ones that are already there to split into to teams to go with you two when you arrive."
Jolan said nothing. He wanted to watch her incantation work. He wondered if he would ever be as good as she was.
Anabel centered herself quickly. This time she only half closed her eyes. Her hands raised before her and she moved them creating complicated symbols in the air. Seven swirls of magic began flowing in and out and around each other in complicated swirling knots.
The swirls knotted together to create on large complex knot. Several runic symbols formed along the knot and it seemed to tighten even more, creating a new and more complex pattern. The knot swirled before her and she brought a small dark jar out as she examined it.
She held the jar out and allowed it to sit on the palm of her hand just below the knot. The knot descended upon the jar, slowly revolving. It seemed to expand over the jar to tighten just as it fully consumed the. The jar darkened even more and seemed to thicken as well. The jar became faceted and turned black as the darkest night.
Anabel let out a long breath and placed the jar into her pocket dimension. She massaged her right shoulder and turned with a smile to her son.
"I want to learn incantation and spellwork from you mother."
Anabel looked at her son carefully. "Have you not been learning from me all this time? I thought I had been teaching you."
Jolan heard the the honest confusion in his mother's voice. He smiled. "You have. I just have not paid sufficient attention to your teachings. Now I want to honestly learn."
Anabel smiled in enlightenment. "You are a good sorcerer Jolan."
"Yes but I want to be a spell master, not just a sorcerer."
"Fine we will practice together. What are you doing now?"
Jolan brightened. "Practicing with you."
Swirling portals opened and closed and opened again. They were of all shapes and they seemed to flash, overlap, and increase and decrease their sizes quickly.
The portals abruptly stopped forming and Amethyst stepped out from a shadow.
She stood on a wide hill that she and Jolan had flattened many years ago when they first began seriously practicing magic. She smiled at the memory of Jolan terrified about possibly being punished.
She breathed in and out deeply and rolled her neck. She placed her right foot forward and began opening portals again. She opened them high in the sky, on the surface of the ground before her, on the face of boulders, and on the surface of leaves.
She first focused on controlling when they opened, then their size, then opening them and closing them instantly. She continued opening them in one dimension along a fairly safe path that she new very well.
Dimensional doors were more than pathways through the spirit realm or jump points connecting dimensions. If the traveler was particularly powerful and skilled they could open doors to the spaces between dimensions instead of directly to a dimension.
Traveling through the spaces between dimensions could be dangerous because most of the beings there have been trapped, either accidentally or on purpose. Either way, none wanted to stay. All were looking for a way to escape.
When her soul was split and she had to enter the spirit realm to heal she learned about these spaces. She had accidently opened one when she was not quite ready to return but she desperately wanted home.
She had opened a black door to the most brilliantly white dimension she had ever seen. It shown brilliantly in her eyes almost melting her brain. Once she recovered from the pain of just looking into the door she had realized one of her legs was burning.
She had looked down to see the purest white tendril coiling around it, her flesh blackening in its embrace.
When she looked into the door to see what had grabbed her the tendril seemed to disappear into the white void, seemingly connected to nothing.
It took her a long moment to remember that she could aways close a door that she had opened. One of the first things her mother taught her was to always follow her instincts and if she ever instinctual knew that she could not close a door she should never open it.
After that day she learned how to distinguish void doors from dimensional doors. It was a long painful process but she learned.
She found herself looking into the distance, daydreaming about exploring an island.