Meanwhile...
Adykon was continuing to perform the rituals when... something was not right... he became lightheaded.. and had to lie down for a moment. His vision faded to black, and he had a sensation of falling... falling... and then, in the middle of the darkness, his fall stopped. He could sense that his body was still lying down on the cold stone floor, but his mind was... somewhere else...
The female archmage. She was at it again. A pale feminine figure appeared out of the darkness... with a staff in her hands. This time, the figure was totally white, as white as the clouds... with the body of a female dracon but no discernible features. The white light emanated from her as she was a star, but somehow, Adykon was neither blinded nor stunned by the light. He could feel it washing onto himself... it felt... warm, but not just in the sense of heat; he could feel warmth down in his soul, as if he was in the presence of true love and compassion, although he knew this was just a vision.
"Take this" she urged, as she handed him a wooden staff that she had conjured up. Adykon took the staff, and no sooner than he had done so, the figure began to glow less brightly.
"Are you okay?" he queried. "Should I give the staff back? You seem to be weaker without it!"
"No... you need it more than I do... it cost me... much pain to contact you here... even more pain to give you my staff... it will return to me when your use for it is done... just know that you will only be able to use it once... I could not give it any more magic than that, not in this place. Now go, use it when the time is right..." the female replied.
"But how will I know when to use it?" the warrior asked.
"It will be made clear to you. This gift of mine is not guaranteed to work, nor is it enough to stop Asthia by itself... but... it is all I can give you... now go!" And with that, the mental realm Adykon had been spirited to faded to black, and he could feel the sensation of himself rising... rising... rising... and then, he woke up! As his eyes snapped open, he felt something in his hands... the staff! Was it real? Was he still dreaming? No... it was real alright... but what if Asthia saw it? How would he hide it? More importantly, what could he do with it? The second question was swiftly answered, for as soon as Adykon had wished the staff to be hidden, it rapidly changed shape to form a wooden greave, which fit perfectly onto Adykon's right leg.
Not quite sure what to make of this, Adykon hid the wooden staff-turned-greave under his pant leg, and proceeded on to the next ritual...
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