...A counterfeit note? Why?
Is he trying to pray for a raise? Money? A few pounds?
...Now that I think about it. Rituals are similar to sorceries right?
Old Neil is not attempting something... Unexpected, right?
All sorts of thoughts surfaced in Selina's mind that she couldn't help but lean closer. Maybe there's more than meets the eye!
Old Neil's pupils rapidly darkened as invisible wind around him spun. Then, he chanted in Hermes:
"I sanctify you, blade of pure silver!
"I cleanse and purify you, allowing you to serve me in this ritual!
...
"In the name of the Evernight Goddess, the Lady of Crimson...
"You have been sanctified!"
After a short but powerful syllable, Old Neil drew a silver knife and inserted it into a cup of clear water. Then, he raised it and pointed to the space beyond the table.
He aimed the blade tip in the periphery and took a step forward, circling the round table. Every step he took made Selina feel an invisible energy spew out of the silver knife. It was filled with spirituality as it connected with the air, forming a completely sealed wall.
After walking one round, the altar was completely isolated from its surroundings.
Old Neil stood in front of the table and put the silver knife down. He picked up the bottle of Midnight Light Essence Oil and dripped three drops on the black, dark red, and ordinary candles.
Sizzle!
Selina caught whiff of a scented fragrance. Soothing and serene. It drifted across the room, filling its crevices of this pleasant smell.
Mr. Fool had mentioned of using essential oils, but he didn't specified what to use it for. The documents didn't seem to have this prerequisite, so perhaps because of that her first ritual was poorly performed.
If it wasn't Mr. Fool, then maybe, the ritual wouldn't have worked.
This was Selina's first thoughts when she saw Old Neil deliberately made such preparations.
Following that, he drew another 'cross,' indicating that it was canceled.
Upon reaching this step, he picked up the parchment with one hand and tapped his glabella with the other to activate his Spirit Vision.
Another invisible and exuberant energy bloomed as Old Neil whispered a chant:
"I pray for the power of the dark night.
"I pray for the power of the crimson.
"I pray for the Goddess's loving grace.
"Please provide me with the funds to pay this IOU.
"Night vanilla, an herb that belongs to the red moon, please bestow your powers to my incantation!"
"Moon flower, an herb that belongs to the red moon, please bestow your powers to my incantation!"
...
After Old Neil finished his incantation, he closed his eyes for two minutes. He picked up the Full Moon Essence Oil and dripped one drop onto each of the three candles.
Immediately following that, he grabbed the parchment and pulled it close to the candle representing "me." When it ignited, he immediately threw it into the cauldron.
Old Neil closed his eyes again as he seemed to sense the burning of the IOU.
He opened his eyes after a moment and looked toward the black Sacred Emblem on the cauldron. The parchment was already completely incinerated.
"Praise the Lady!" Old Neil tapped his chest in four spots, forming the shape of the crimson moon. Then, he extinguished the candles in the opposite order as he lit them.
After finishing everything, he used the silver knife to rip apart the invisible wall around him.
A huge wind stirred immediately as Old Neil heaved a sigh of relief.
"It's done."
There weren't any changes other than Selina's position, now two steps further from him, smiling as if she didn't had any thoughts about Old Neil's wish.
"Does it end there?" she said with a faint glint in her eyes.
Old Neil didn't mistook this and asked in an exasperated tone, "I assume you saw the parchment?"
"...Yes", Selina answered wearily.
"I can see it from the foolishness and ignorance of your eyes that perhaps you had disbelief about my wish. If Dunn had forgotten to tell then I'll say it , the maxim of Mystery Pryers! Do as you wish but do no harm!"
"I'm very sorry..." Selina did not hesitate to apologize.
Old Neil suddenly chuckled after. He's not truly angry, rather it amuses him a bit.
"Heh, it's alright. Then perhaps you'll engrave this insight next time you'll see another Mystery Pryer. Well thankfully, for Apothecaries in the Church of the Earth Mother, they have similar maxim. Which is 'to live is to preserve life.'"
To live is to preserve life... It reminds me of Mr. Darkwill's own rule, 'we make medicines to preserve life', it hints the 'acting principle.'
Selina smiled wearily and began asking, "Was the ritual truly the end of it?"
She assumed there would be similar event where the being would appear in front of them. Maybe obscured by a thick gray fog while sitting on a high-back chair. She even wondered if there was another party at that time, would they also see it for themselves?
"I don't know either. Anyways, it will be settled in a reasonable manner," said Old Neil with a smile as he threw up his hands.
"Of course, if you are not confident about the ritualistic magic you are attempting, it's best to choose a suitable date and time. It can increase the probability of success.
"Ah right. This is based on a premise. Remember carefully to abide strictly by the rules!"
Old Neil placed two candles and turned to the side and looked at Selina, saying very solemnly, "Low-Sequence Beyonders are not strong enough. Almost all the ritualistic magic they can perform are the seeking of external powers and help. Therefore, you can only consider orthodox divinities like the Goddess or the Lord of Storms. Absolutely— absolutely do not attempt to communicate with the unknown or unpredictable existences. Even if people believe in them or the promises recorded are filled with enticements!
"Believe me, don't take any chances. As long as you attempt once, you will go down a slippery slope into the abyss with no return. Any work or resistance will only slow it down with no way to change the trajectory."
"I will remember!" Selina said firmly. With no intention of disobeying the taboo.
Simulating an emotion to return to the dreamworld doesn't necessarily counts as "seeking external strength from an unknown being."
Thankfully, so far, I haven't displayed any signs of losing control...
After this brief relief, she changed the subject.
"By the way. Why do we symbolize the Goddess with only two candles? She's also the Mistress of Calm and Misfortune..."
"I was hoping for you to ask that." Old Neil chuckled.
"Before their fall, the Moses Ascetic Order had a very good relationship with the Church. Their beliefs and results on ritualistic magic have heavily influenced us.
"They believe that all objects are numeric. Every number has a spirituality and in ritualistic magic, 0 represents the unknown or Chaos. It symbolizes the state of the universe before it was born. 1 represents a beginning, the first Creator. 2 represents the world and various divinities that were produced from His body. 3 represents contact between divinities and material objects to create all things. Here, using two candles represents the Goddess while the third candle is for you.
"Which two candles and which two symbols to have depend on the intended effects the of ritualistic magic."
Selina unknowingly tilt her head slightly.
Old Neil sighed, "You remembered what I told you before my attempt right?"
Some thoughts surfaced before Selina finally said, "The Universal 'I'? Which represents oneself?"
This was described from the her believer's sacrifice.
"Correct", Old Neil said with satisfaction. "From a view point of any normal person..."
He produced a candle, laid from the table.
"It's a very ordinary candle which only has a little bit of mint added. Take note that plants like roses, lemons, mint, moon flower, night vanilla, and slumber flower are beloved and cherished by the Goddess.
"But viewing it from another angle, the three candles becomes a representation of the bodies, spiritualities and godhood of every person."
After finishing the description, Old Neil placed the candle aside.
"To Beyonders who are not good at ritualistic magic, there is a need for bells, crystal balls, silver cups, incense or other supplementary items. However, Mystery Pryers and Seers have no need for that. These artifacts are already sufficient.
"For Apothecaries, they aren't really adept toward ritualistic magic. They're more aligned with concocting 'magical' medicines and are generally well off as a support. The reason why I'm demonstrating you all of this is because some medicine formulas do require an external power, and since Apothecaries have enough capabilities to do spiritual vision, perhaps a simple ritualistic magic should also work."
Medicines requiring external power? From deities?
"Mr. Old Neil, you seems to be really familiar with the formulas from the Church of the Earth Mother's", Selina remarked with admiration.
"Compliments won't get you anywhere miss... Heh, alright maybe a free cup of coffee while you listen", Old Neil gently laughed it off. "To be precise, these formulas all require spirituality instilled within them to achieve intended effects. There is a separate ritual for this, but that will be in another time, for now let's stick with the basics.
"Throughout the entire process, we have to go according to the outcome we desire to confirm the symbolism and corresponding incantation. Incantations are best done in Hermes because ancient Hermes stemmed from Nature. It's akin to ancient Dragonish and ancient Elvish. The effects are very direct, lacking the necessary concealment and protection. It easily causes the caster to fall into danger. This is also why it has been modified. However, it's more effective.
"Which reminds me, you said you're not confident with Hermes language right?", Old Neil glanced at Selina with a profound look.
Selina nod briefly and said, "Yes. I haven't gotten a chance to truly integrate myself into the beyonder world."
Until now...
Old Neil chuckled.
"Then should we start with the language first before delving into the documents?" he asked playfully.
"Yes, please do." said Selina with gentle expression.
...
It was nearing afternoon.
Old Neil had been monitoring Selina about mysticism language for hours. With some occasional redirections and guidance.
The lady seemed to have been doing well with the words and letters that he seriously thought of finishing everything by today.
Upon checking his pocket watch, Old Neil suddenly stood up and turned to Selina, "Right, Ms. Roy, would you mind if I take my leave? I haven't patrolled the area around the armory and Frye should be expecting me at the clerk office."
Selina shook her head gently while standing up herself. "I have received much help from you. Thank you very much Mr. Old Neil."
When Old Neil said his appreciation. He quietly turned the handle of the door, and what greeted him shocked Selina.
There was a wallet nested just beyond the entrance.
What? Selina exclaimed.
What are the odds of a wallet being there by the entrance?
Only me and Mr. Old Neil are here in the alchemy room! she couldn't help but prick her brows.
Wait.. There was Mr. Moretti, but he already left hours ago! Perhaps when he left, his wallet already fell?
At that moment, she felt a strange foreboding that the ritual was slowly taking its effect and now displaying it in real-time.
While Selina processes the encounter, Old Neil delightfully reached for the wallet, inspected it, and told Selina, "This seems to belong to Moretti.
"Don't worry, I'll return this. The Goddess disdains such corrupted acts, so doing the right thing should always be the top priority. Let's patiently wait for my 'wish' to be granted."
Before he left, he said one last request, "Anyway, I would appreciate it if you could stop thinking about the bloody IOU."
Selina felt a corner of her mouth twitched.
As he spoke, he unhurriedly closed the entrance. Selina watched and listened as the footsteps gradually fades.
To think... It can be used in such a way.
Wouldn't the Goddess also disdains such an intent? Troubling "Her" in a trivial way?
She was worried that he would have used the Goddess's bestowment as an excuse and paid off his debt. She was still wondering how to prevent it and persuade him otherwise.
"Do as you wish, but do no harm"... Selina heaved a sigh of relief. Gaining a new insight of her mentor's morals.