Written by Chris Buser
Monday, July 5, 2004. The Handfasting.
The dawn met Constance Jones and her companion, Luckychance, on a fateful July morning. They were in Death Valley, the most auspicious place on Earth for new beginnings where the Awakened were concerned. A shimmering presence met them as well, offering to take them to the ceremonial site. The journey commences, through a small passageway in which the Storms, strangely, did not rage, into a mountain meadow, broken by riots of color as wildflowers burst through the deep, green grass. Butterflies launched themselves into the air with every step, and the shy creatures of Gaia's woodlands watched the guests enter, without fear.
On the opposide side of the meadow from whence the guests entered, to the west, two trees grew side-by-side in front of an outcropping of rock, Oak dexter, Holly sinister, branches interwoven to form an arch. Through it, the basin of a small waterfall could be seen, creating just enough mist to form the smallest of rainbows.
The two guests stood in front of that archway, now, between two unlit braziers, as the betrothed stepped forward to meet them, fraimed by the soft rays of the realm's dawn, which outlined their forms against the verdant darkness behind them. Chelsea was dressed in a simple black gown of traditional Irish lace, her hair braided in the ways of the ancient Celts around a very old tiara of silver and hematite. Nicodemus stood at her side, hardly recognizable in a suit instead of his infamous tattered trenchcoat and ever-present hat. Lucky's simple, yet elegant silk dress matched Chelsea's ebony, while Connie blended into the lushness of the environment in a long green dress. Chelsea's siblings, June and Khabal, moved to join them, as Chelsea welcomed her guests warmly.
And then... it was time. Connal's voice rang out from the void, slow pronounciations lending weight to his words, rich in depth and wisdom.
"Welcome, friends, as we gather to celebrate the union of Chelsea Conrad and Nicodemus. May Dana visit her grace upon this couple so long as they live in love together. I am sorry that I could not be present in body, though my spirit is here all the more strongly for it."
"That's just freaky, Connal.", Lucky muttered under her breath.
"With the blessings of the Hawk of Dawn soaring through clear, pure air, we call upon the powers of the east. May the song of wisdom be carried upon the wind and visit you both."
At this moment, the sun crested the horizon, throwing brilliant rays of sunlight across the meadow. As the rays touched the braziers, the scent of incense wafted across the circle, though no flames were visible. As the brilliance fades into normal daylight, the shifting form of an air elemental rested above each brazier.
"With the blessings of the Great Stag in the heat of the chase, we call upon the powers of the south May the flow of harmony and passion enter your hearts."
With that, two basins (that had previously gone unnoticed around the holly tree) burst into flame with a roar, the fire dancing several feet into the air from the beaten bronze. As the ruddy glare died, the shifting form of a fire elemental rested above each basin.
"With the blessings of the Salmon of Knowledge who dwells within the sacred waters of the pool, we call upon the powers of the west. May the currents of love draw understanding into your souls."
(As Connal spoke, a part of Nicodemus's mind saw an ignorant Willworker pointing a finger at Chelsea and mocking her... "You were blessed by a fish!" ... and then Nico simply looked at him, and the fool dissolved into so much screaming dust. The vision passed as rapidly as it occured.)
And with this, two jets of water soared upwards from the pool of water beyond the arch, spraying mist across the circle. As the spray faded, leaving twin complex patterns of gushing water behind, the shifting form of a water elemental rested above each fountain.
"With the blessings of the Great Bear of the deep and fruitful earth, we call upon the powers of the north. May your love stand firm as a base upon which to build your lives."
And at this last pronouncement, a rumble heralded the arrival of two earth elementals, rising from the ground without flair or ceremony to bracket the old oak tree.
"With the blessings of Dana, Mother of all, we close this circle and bind it in the arms of the Mother. May she watch over and protect us this morn and cast her blessing upon what we do here today."
With those words, a barely discernable shimmering passed through the gathered in an ever-expanding circle, leaving behind a comforting presence that simply... was.
"Chelsea and Nicodemus, you stand before your friends and the Mother to bind yourselves, one to another, in a binding committment of love. Where once there were two, there shall now be only one."
The phantasm paused, and looked at the groom-to-be.
"Nicodemus, do you bring yourself here to this place only to lose yourself in the union you are about to join? To devote yourself heart and soul, body and mind, spirit and avatar to Chelsea, your one and only true love?"
Nico had... thought of this moment. And now the moment was here. He had sworn an oath prior... the oath all Euthanatoi swore, the oath that formed the very paradigm of the Tradition.
The Chakradharmasamhita. The Eight Spoked Wheel of the Law.
To place anything before this...
Nicodemus answered without hesitation or care. "Yes"
"Then present your ring and let her accept the purity of your gift."
Nicodemus reached into his breast pocket, removing a gleaming piece of hematite, and turned to Chelsea.
"You have heard the story of how this ring came to be. Will you accept it from me now?"
"As I did before, I do again now. Yes."
And with that, Nicodemus slid the ring on her finger, whispering the promise he had made to her upon surviving his Seeking. The apparition spoke again.
"Chelsea, do you bring yourself here to this place only to lose yourself in the union you are about to join? To devote yourself heart and soul, body and mind, spirit and avatar to Nicodemus, your one and only true love?"
"Yes. So much as I am able, what I am and what I have and what the gods would give to me and allow for me, shall also be my husband's."
"Then present your ring and let him accept the purity of your gift."
Nicodemus started a little, surprised and obviously not expecting a ring of his own... then stretched his hand out to her. Chelsea took the gold cross of her father's out from her gown, and unthreaded from it a band of hematite similar to her own. She put the necklace back on, and slid the ring onto Nico's hand
"By the element of Calas, we consecrate this joining of two upon the foundation of their love. May your love stand as the bedrock upon which your relationship may thrive."
With a slight rustling, two braided crowns fell from the intertwined trees above. Plaited oak and holly, formed into a circlet, landed neatly upon the brow of both bride and groom. Chelsea smiled at her newly acquired second crown.
"By the element of Gwyar, we celebrate the dance of one with another, twisting and twining themselves into a single braid, stronger than either alone and rich with the pattern of life between them."
Silently, a chalice rose from the water behind the couple and floated to them, filled with the pure mountain water from the pool. The sunlight glinted off the polished silver, etched with roses and holly climbing over elaborate Celtic knotwork. The chalice came to a rest, chest-high, between the couple.
"By the element of Nwyfre, we embrace this new union as a life unto itself, bursting forth from the ashes of these two souls and living a new life as a single being. Drink. Drink from the chalice and live as one."
(The Jhor rose anew. Drink of me and live forever... Nico banished the thought, not sure where it came from.)
Chelsea reached for the chalice and drank deeply, her eyes never leaving Nico's face. Nicodemus waited for her to finish, then finished the contents of the chalice, never breaking eye contact with Chelsea. As they drank, a curious network of light formed around them, swirling and twisting about them in a complex and compelling pattern. As it formed, the impression was given that this is a manifestation of the Tellurian itself, the fabric of some small corner of the Tapestry here for all to see. As if, in another place, another realm, a single apple fell from the Tree of Life, as the Tapestry accepted the vows these two have accepted. The apple nestles into the earth, and a single sapling began to grow, as the effect fades away.
"Go forth, and be as one. Man and wife."
Hand-in-hand, amused and happy and... peaceful, the two walked towards the assembed guests. The elementals faded from the realm, though the calming presence remained. Connal spoke again, still a disembodied voice.
" Again, I am sorry I could not be here in body. You are free, though, to remain as long as you like."
"Thank you, Connal.", replied Chelsea. "It's been.....perfect."
"You are most welcome, in every way."
And with that, with a nod to Western tradition, Chelsea leaned over and kissed her husband soundly. Nicodemus returned it without a care for the audience. Connie watched with nothing but joy radiating from her face, while tears rolled down Lucky's face.
"So...", Chelsea asked "Hell's frozen over now, right?"
"You could safely say that..." Nico replied. "Although... I have a question?"
Chelsea cast an amused glance his way.
"Where's my hat?"
Lucky giggled softly, wiping away her tears, as Constance bit back a laugh.
"Sorry. Malfeas wanted a trade when Jason got out of hell. I thought it was a pretty decent trade."
She tried, but couldn't keep a straight face as she said it.
"Hrm. Yes. I suppose I can always make a new one out of the first fool who calls you a sell-out for marrying a Trendy."
He pondered a moment, as Chelsea laughed.
"It's under the bed."
Constance grinned at this. "No, Nico, you make her a corset from that, not a hat."
"I think I will, at that. What an exquisite idea"
Chelsea demurred. "People are wierd leather. Cows have tougher hides."
"Fair enough", he replied, still contimplating the idea.
"Please accept this chalice as a gift as well. It is quite old, and will serve you well."
Chelsea turned towards the direction of the voice.
"That's very generous. Thank you, Connal."
Chelsea reached into a shadow cast by one of the braziers, and pulled out a white box tied with black ribbon. A bit sheepishly, she handed it to Nico.
"What is this?"
"He said to pick something with personal significance. So, there it is. Just bear in mind, my idea of significant is... odd. You're going to say practical."
"Is this something I should open in front of our guests?"
She shrugged. "They're family."
Nico nodded, and opened the box. In it was a black velvet dress, somewhat worse for the wear. The bloodstains on the dress revealed it's age. Nico smiled, remembering St. Louis.
"That's what I used, to find you in Colorado. I hadn't done the laundry yet, and......well, it's how I managed to drop their wards. So I held on to it, 'cause, well.....good men are hard to find?"
At this, he couldn't help but close his eyes, toss his head back, and laugh, as Chelsea blushed and grinned. Still laughing, he reached inside the breast pocket of his suit, and pulled out a small, slender box... black, with white ribbon.
"This... this is for you. I've needed it for the longest time... but not anymore."
Chelsea untied the ribbon, and opened the box, revealing a small silver scalpel, bearing it's own bloodstains.
"I've had it since the day I became... Aware. After it sang to me, under the Arch... I suspected then what I know now."
Chelsea smiled, looking at it for quite some time before glancing back up at him "Don't try to throw your date in the Umbra?"
"Something like that, yes. And I daresay that we're going to make our family sick if we keep this up."
"Yeah, well, they're family... they're already sick. And this is going under the bed too."
Constance and Chelsea grinned at each other.
"Good. Now I know where it is if I want to... borrow it later tonight."
Lucky shook her head slightly at the expression on his face, laughing quietly. Chelsea smirked, but instead of the usual cynicism, it was actually cute, for once.
"So. Do you think that there are refreshments somewhere in Neverland for our guests?"
"Should we give our gifts frist? ", asked Connie.
"Oh, ask my wife. She's the Lady Conrad, after all. She knows a lot more about this formal etiquette shit than I do."
"All I learned about ettiquette, I learned from my Grandmother. It can be summarized as 'Do what the Druid tells you to, and everything'll be fine.' ", Chelsea responded, looking at Connie. "I'm sorry I didn't give you more notice, on the present thing."
"I still found ones", she replied with a grin. Taking the PDA from her sash, she gave it to Nico. "It's modified. Have fun figureing out what it does." She handed a small bag to Chelsea, who peeked inside carefully, as if the contents would bite. She blinked, smiling, and then hugged Connie tightly, whispering something to her before moving back to Nico's side, looking at Lucky, who arched a brow. "Please tell me you didn't get him a ball gag."
Lucky laughed, handing Nico a long box and Chelsea two smaller ones. Chelsea took hers, waiting for Nico to go first. Nico opened it, and found an elegant leather scabbard, a new home for the Sword of Judgement. He smiled at her... "Thank you, Lucky. I've been needing this." "I know", she responded.
Chelsea then opened hers, finding a hematite necklace in one box, and a matching tiara in the other. "This is beautiful, Luck." "It matches you well."
They embraced, as they did, a shadow reached down fromt he trees, plucking the tiara that Chelsea had worn previously and placing it on Lucky's head.
"Tag! You're it!"
Eveyone laughed, as Nico noted the transition with an amused shrug. "June Fucking Cleaver, Queen of all Hollow."
Chelsea shrugged off the loss of leadership. "I don't think he'll let me out of bed long enough to do it right. And... they need you. Family. And of course, well... I can just tie him down if I have to come choke a bitch for you."
Lucky laughed. "When it comes time for that, we'll ride together."
Chelsea smiled at Nico. "I love you. But after that, I think I still need a drink."
As she headed for the refreshments, Nico called out "I'll take an amaretto sour... or simple water." Chelsea poured herself a cup of mead. "That was wife, not beer bitch, honey."
"Shit. Worth a try."
And as he walked over to the refreshments himself, to the chorus of everyone falling over with laughter, Nicodemus, who had obliterated his last name in service to his Goddess(es), and had taken the Spanish pseudonym of Feenseurte, "Fe en seurte" for "Faith in luck", contimplated his new existance as Nicodemus Conrad... there were storms, on the horizon, and a Tellurian to save, though it cost him his life... but he was ready, now... and with Judgement in one hand, and his wife on the other, nothing could withstand his passion, his Will... his destiny.
Nicodemus Conrad contimplated it all... and found it good.