The day before Temen’s spirit was to be born, Nammu requested her Marked to prepare the birthing bed. We were told to find cypress needles, to carve a certain symbol into the floor, and to recite part of Verse 3.
--
Luna appears in the barracks, looking around for cypress needles.
“Can I help you Luna?” Ends of the Worlds asked.
"Hey Ends, I'm just looking around. This place is beautiful." Luna replied. She looked around the Rebirth team’s barracks looking for any signs of cypress needles.
“Is it? I hadn't really noticed.”
"I think it is. Honestly, Nammu chose a very beautiful place for Temen's birth."
Luna is unable to find any sign of cypress needles or even wood in the room.
"Hmm. That is an issue." Luna mutters under her breath.
“Temen? Is that the name she chose?” Ends asked curiously.
"Yes. It means foundation. I think it's a pretty name." Luna replied.
“Udmu'n gux ctj Y tiwiwvvm vz…” Ends said, in a tongue only just recently understandable by the Marked.
“Just muttering to myself about my feeble brain. Are you sure I can't help you find anything? There's not much here but…” Ends said.
"I've always enjoyed the scent of cypress needles. I was just wondering if there was any here?" Luna responded, trying not to alert Ends.
“None here. If you're looking for Cypress though, you could always try the Vast Meadow in the Shrine. There are some that grow there if memory serves. Not that I particularly trust my own but maybe I can still get some things right.” Ends replied.
"Hmm. okay, thanks for the tips Ends. I guess I'll head over there then."
“Luna”
“Ends”
“In the interest of fairness, I will have to allow Jinn to tour the Synchronicity barracks later on. It's only right. After that initial tour though, neither team will be allowed in the other's for the duration of Dueling Season. Permitted I can ever get the damn things started…”
"I appreciate the honesty. Jinn is one of my best friends, so I'm perfectly fine with him touring the Synchronicity barracks."
“Friend or not, you are still opponents, though not enemies. But I am glad to hear it regardless. Good luck finding what you seek.”
“Thank you Ends.” With that, Luna concentrates on the Vast Meadow and disappears.
---
Luna appears in the Vast Meadow outside of the Shrine of Artemis, a place she hasn’t been to in a long time. She walks around looking for the cypress tree Ends talked about.
“Follow.” Buck said. He’s always been fond of very short sentences.
Luna follows Buck. Buck traces a rambling and winding path through some thick trees at the outskirts of the meadow. The ground and surrounding green begins to turn to dirt and brown, dead vegetation. There are black charred patches that begin to line the path. Eventually Luna sees a lone Cypress sprouting up from blackened earth.
“Here.” Buck said.
"Whoa. What the heck happened to this area?" Luna asked, slightly nervous.
“Cypress stands alone.” Buck says.
{- Some serious Deja vu ain’t it Lunes -} Krystal said internally.
{“For sure Krys.”}
In any case, Luna attempts to pull a branch off with her paws, but it doesn’t work. Instead, she pul;s out her ceremonial knife and cuts a branch off. The branch cuts loose easily, but she hears a disembodied cry of pain echo somewhere in the air. Black, blood thick sap drips from the cut nub.
Luna grimaces a little bit, as if feeling like she made a horrible mistake. “Uhhh that’s uncomfortable.” Luna says, feeling a bit worried. It wouldn’t be the first time following intstructions blindly caused bad things to happen in this World.
Buck looks at her with sympathy but stays silent. In any case, Luna and Buck return to the main meadow where it’s a lot greener and prettier.
Luna still looks a bit shaken up after experiencing that. "Am I doing the right thing? The echo of pain got me a bit scared." The calming sounds of nature provides some comfort but ultimately no true answers. With that done, she says goodbye to Buck and returns to Nabu to finish preparations.
---
With the cypress in hand, Luna returns to the Rebirth team barracks to complete preparations.
Luna scatters the needles of the cypress on the floor, as per Nammu’s instructions. Afterwards, she uses her ceremonial knife to carve out the symbol of the Demiurge on the floor.
“Oh good, this should be fun. Now say something horrifically inappropriate to involve with an infant” Ends drawled.
Luna takes a deep breath and recites the last four lines of Verse 3, albeit with an annoyed tone to her voice.
"Awaken my lust for knowledge and power
To forever burn in the abyss of my heart
For Illumination is not found in Light
But in Darkness"
The room grows dark, and the floor opens up. The bed from their vision rises into view in the center of the room facing the markings on the wall revealed from behind the stone facade.
“Whoa. Pretty bed.” Luna says, excited that the instructions worked.
“Cool…” said Code, who was assisting Luna with the preparations.
“It’s… something.” Ends says, unenthusiastically
“Definitely.” Luna says.
“Udp Emkrdsyayc Bugc cfh hxaou P pyliypl scg tgob ujittuio” complained Ends. Apparently that California King and Duvet was what she wanted the most. “Well, that’s that I suppose.”
Luna dusts herself off and speaks a bit more with Ends, especially since a contradiction arose while in the Vast Meadow.
"Indeed. Now we just wait for the Holy Mother. By the way, with the cypress plant in the Vast Meadow, was there only one in your memory?" Luna asks.
“No. There was a grove. It was lovely.” Ends responds
"Okay, that's weird. When I went over there, there was only one cypress. It was in a blackened field of dead vegetation. And when I cut the branch off, there was this like... scream of pain." Luna explains, still visibly shaken up.
“As comforting as it is surprising. This entire endeavor is lousy with bad omens.” says Ends.
"Honestly, I agree. I'm getting really bad vibes from this whole thing."
“Nammu is very wise, so despite my pushback I am conflicted. This child is born of the 12121, an exercise itself birthed in a spirit of despair, destruction and death. But we cannot really do anything else but prepare for the child to arrive.”
“Udmgc zus vt lx owrj Qkaoc fpz qwmob” said Ends, with a tinge of annoyance in her voice.
{- Alito? Who’s that? -}, asks Krystal.
{“Unsure”} says Luna.
"That's the only reason I did this as well. I respect Nammu's wishes, and as her Marked, I will do as she says." Luna says to Ends. "In any case, hopefully this is all we need for tomorrow. I'm gonna head back. See ya Ends."
“See you later, Luna.”
With that, Luna concentrates on Harmonia’s house and disappears.
