The Lore Wain and Her Nephew Pt. 46

[Removed terminology moderators (that I assume) deemed offensive: "deep magic" "incantations". Also slightly revised the story to be more in character for the characters in it. To moderators: let me know if there is something else wrong (specifically) after the revisions that you don't like so I can effectively fix them. I had to assume to make this work and I hope it's to your liking.]

Ramger gently closed the door behind him and approached Celeste, who was sitting at her desk faced away from the entrance. He was carrying Echo's basket, which was left out in deck after the dragon's interaction. Just as he carefully set the basket down at to the side of Celeste's desk, he carefully addressed her with respect. "My lady?" Celeste didn't reply to him because she couldn't hear him. Echo was still making a big fuss after the interaction with the dragon and she couldn't seem to calm him down. Ramger spoke at a volume above Echo, "My lady!" She turned to face him with a strange expression on her face. Celeste looked angry. It could only be assumed her anger was directed at something else rather than Echo. He quickly shut his mouth, having never seen her look so furious. Sure, Ramger had seen her angry at him a few days prior but this expression was far more than irritation. "He won't stop crying!" Celeste blurted out in frustration. "I've tried everything! He won't take a bottle, he isn't dirty, and I can't get him to laugh!" "Hand him to me, let me help!" Ramger offered and held his hands out to her over the table. Celeste handed Echo off to Ramger and immediately folded her arms afterward. She was steaming. Celeste had retreated into her cabin to think about what Lyresa had said to her but she hadn't had time to with Echo crying like this. Ramger started trying to help Echo calm down but quickly realized Echo was not relenting. Perplexed by the baby's behavior, he looked back at Celeste. "Was he crying prior to the sea dragon?!" He shouted over the little king's crying. "No! He was perfectly fine before!" Celeste yelled a little louder than she needed to. "I don't understand what's wrong! It's like he saw a ghost!" Ramger tried to think through the screaming, like he remembered a detail about sea dragons that he couldn't quite grasp. After a moment, he was able to remember. He looked over at Celeste, "You don't suppose Echo saw a vision, do you?!" "Even if he did, how are we supposed to tell?! He's a baby!" Celeste shouted, sounding exasperated. "There might be a way! One moment!" Ramger said before he exited the Captain's cabin in haste. "Where are you going?!" Celeste shouted after him and followed. Ramger sighed and took a deep breath to prepare for who he was calling before shouting, "Clef!" Clef, confused but also alarmed to hear Ramger call his name, ran down the stairs right to him. "What's going on?" "Echo won't stop crying no matter what we try and I need your flute." Ramger said with a dutiful look on his face and little explanation. "My flute? What for???" Clef looked even more confused. "Just get your flute. I need you to play something for me." Ramger said to Clef before looking at Celeste. "There's a song I think might help... Just trust me." He murmured to her before going back into the Captain's Cabin with a screaming Echo in his arms. Celeste sighed and followed Ramger back inside. Clef pulled his flute out of his pocket and followed both of them back into the cabin with a perplexed look on his face. Ramger set Echo down in his basket to free up his arms and picked up a quill as if he were going to conduct Clef in a song. "What are you doing?" Clef asked, still very confused. "Follow my prompts!" Ramger demanded, starting to get frustrated. He looked at Celeste and gave her a command as well, "Be quick when the song starts because this will be a small window!" He looked up towards the ceiling and prayed a quick prayer to the Maker before beginning. Before Celeste could ask what Ramger meant, Clef shrugged, put his flute to his lips, and began playing the song. Ramger then proceeded to conduct Clef in a song that was not familiar to anyone present except himself. In fact, it somehow had strange properties despite being from a common flute. Something odd started to happen with Echo. First, he slowly stopped crying but then something about his face changed. His blue eyes started glowing! Celeste watched in wonder and fear as she felt something strange happening to her as well. Her brown eyes were also starting to glow in sync to Echo's but she didn't seem know it. Clef was unsettled by all this and thought to stop playing but Ramger continued to conduct so he continued to play. Before Celeste realized what was going on, she heard a child's voice speaking to her. "Auntie, auntie, do you hear me?" A small voice echoed in her head. "Wh-what???" Celeste looked around, realizing she wasn't in her cabin anymore but rather some kind of white empty and fluffy landscape. "Who's there?!" She shouted. "Auntie, something bad is going to happen. Auntie, can you hear me?" The child's voice spoke but the source wasn't in view. Celeste spun in a circle but saw no one. With how the voice was addressing her, she could only assume the voice belonged to her nephew. "Echo?! Echo, if that's you, tell me what the dragon showed you!" "Something bad... Really bad!" The voice responded, sounding rather frantic. "Honey, tell me so I can help!" Celeste exclaimed. "Big wolves... A strange song... I don't understand what I saw, Auntie! I'm so scared!" The voice cried. Before Celeste could ask anymore questions, she got a fast shrinking sensation in her head. When she blinked, she found herself in her Captain's cabin, on her back on the floor. "Celeste!" Clef dropped his flute and quickly went to her. Ramger looked very confused and worried as to way Celeste fell over on the ground after the song. "Celeste, are you alright? We finished the song and next thing we hear is you falling over!" Celeste carefully sat up, her head was spinning. "Hey, are you alright?" Clef asked before helping her up to her feet. Celeste looked at Clef and then looked at Ramger, seeming to get angry again for a moment before taking a deep breath. "You have some explaining to do. What song was that?" Ramger averted his eyes a moment before looking at Celeste. "It was 'The Ancient Song of Secrets'. This song was used long ago... How do I explain this..." He thought a moment before continuing. "As you know, Annerian royals, at least all that are direct descendants of the High King or Queen, can communicate with sea dragons in different ways. This song was constructed when an ancient Annerian, whose name has been lost to time, with a similar intent in mind. Played in the rarest conditions, such as when one of them being in a coma or unable to speak, it was used so that Annerian Royalty could communicate with each other telepathically." "Wait. If this was a song that was formulated only for this communication, why did I faint?" Celeste asked as her mind was starting to clear. Ramger was silent a moment. "I don't know. To be perfectly honest, there is not a whole lot I know about this song besides it's ability to communicate to one who has lost consciousness¹." "Ramger, please tell me this has nothing to do with the-" Celeste went to speak of another certain song used for nefarious purposes. "Unfortunately..." Ramger replied with some shame in his voice, "It might be somehow related to that song but I can't be sure of it. I learned this song when I moved to Anneria years ago so I assumed it was of safe origin... But you fainting has me concerned." Celeste eyes widened, "What? Then why did you insist on us using it!?" "I figured that we needed to see what Echo saw if we wanted to be safe. I've read all about sea dragons and their ability to communicate specially to the royal family. Their warnings are very important to our survival." Ramger expressed with genuine care, "I just pray that your fainting was the only side effect..." "The *only* effect?" Celeste asked with concern before realizing she didn't see Echo anymore, "Where's Echo?!" Ramger quickly looked back to the basket where he set Echo. Celeste looked where Ramger was looking in a panic. Where Echo was lying, there was now a six year old child! However, the young boy was clearly too big to fit in this basket, as his legs and arms hung off the sides. Miraculously, he was now asleep. As realization took effect, everyone came to know that this boy was Echo. Celeste covered her mouth with her hands in a gasp. She quickly kneeled beside the basket. Once Clef saw this bizarre thing, he looked at Ramger with disappointment. "How could this happen?" "I just wanted to protect everybody. You know I'd never want to put the High King or Lore Wain in real danger!" Ramger defended himself. "I promise I never believed the song to have these capabilities. This is the first I've heard of a case where one of the recipients... got older." Clef sighed and looked over at Celeste and Echo. Still talking to Ramger, he asked, "This makes no sense." Ramger sighed in confusion. "The song, it... It's supposed to connect the royals' minds together... I don't understand how it would transform Echo into a six year old." Clef looked at Ramger again with curiosity, "How did you find out about this song?" "After my wife died, I was so grieved that I searched for a way to bring her back... Which I now understand wasn't right of me... My search led me to Anneria after I heard about the song used on Annerian royals generations ago. I admit that I should of never meddled in such songs..." Ramger looked Clef in the eyes, "But I sincerely didn't know this song possibly had dark origins. You must believe me!" Clef didn't know what to think. He thought this seemed all too convenient to of been an accident. But then again, Ramger couldn't be a traitor. He had been working with Anniera for too long to betray them now... But something still didn't sit right with Clef about this situation. Maybe Echo changing wasn't the song's fault. ____________________________ ¹ What Ramger means by "unconscious" and "lower levels of consciousness" does not mean those who have passed away. It's for those who are unable to speak for themselves but they're indeed alive, otherwise the song would be worthless. That was all it was meant for.