ORIGIN - GROW BACK

The knights of Order never rest. Mother had watched as Gembound work to purge her influence from the caves, and so her holds must be strengthened. Forever a zealot, Alcina had done her best to rally some of her siblings to reinforce Canis.

"Come now," she rumbles, "We do this for Mother. I will not let the misguided ones harm you today." She just has to ignore the weakness in her bones, that has pervaded her since she fell back in Leo all those cycles ago. I cannot be weak in front of them, a thought that might not have been held far enough away from the rest of the link.

Still, she turns to the cave in front of them. Patches of fungus still cling to the bones and stone, but they have become farther and farther apart. She cannot nurture it directly, but maybe she can find a lesser to feed to it...

A thread for the children of Order to attempt to reinforce Canis's infestation. Mothered characters are free to join to assist Alcina. Other characters can join to attempt to stop them, but at risk of endangering themselves.

It came to Canis at the call of its siblings. Behind, in Pisces, the chrysalis grew, but it was not concerned. It was hidden, protected, and Doru would see to it in its absence. Besides, the growth of Mother, of Order, and of the Family was more important then anything else and so the Vindicator answered the call, as one zealot of Order among many here to repair what damage the gembound have done.

"Alcina, thy sister," it announced in its arrival. "What sorry sight before thee that thine cave hast come to be. We shalt repair thy damage done." As it stopped its movements, it slowly lowered to the ground, and from the tips of its feet, more fungus began to bloom where there had been a patch of nothing. Webbing stretched across bone, white mold settled upon the tops of rocks and the shell of long-dead creatures.

Order would prevail here, and repair what had been wrought upon it.

The steady tap of their wooden staff on stone had become a regular indicator of Halcyon's presence nowadays should one lack the Hive connection to instantly detect the reassuring brush of their mind against the rest of the network. While their purpose remained spanning multiple areas, focus as of late had dwelt upon shoring up personal defenses so that none under their watch could suffer the bite of magic once more in the line of duty. Drones of a militaristic build such as their current organizer Alcina indeed had the upper hand, even in a diminished form, when it came to matters of battle. Nevertheless, as a servant of Order, obligations must be fulfilled; they would take on whatever role most demanded their careful touch.

At the moment, that meant reestablishing all which had been discarded of, the crystalline perfection uprooted in favor of chaotic weeds. Crouching down, one hand remaining on their staff, they placed a palm down where scorch marks blackened rock and bone alike. Although the scent had long since faded, memory disrupted the desired image of uniform white threads: smoke and burning flesh rose to nostrils. Claws scratched parallel lines as knuckles clenched together.

Never again.

"Confounding," they murmured to themselves.

Preferring to coordinate without risking unwanted listeners, they added, Let your instincts guide you as they wish in restoring these grounds. I shall practice diligence in maintaining our influence as well and render aid if required.

Ananke had remained quiet, at first making her way in among as much cover as she could find and then staying alert as the others began to work. Now that she was certain they were safe--at least for now, her own senses and threaded Lesser-bound consciousness double-checking everything--she turned her attention to the task at hand.

She reached out with her magic: an attempt to bolster her allies. Nothing came; she grimaced. "They have damaged this place more than we knew," she declared grandly, although of course that wasn't true. They'd known. They'd seen.

"Keep at it... I will try to empower our magic."

If it actually works.