Swept

Purple, gold, turquoise and black shimmering sparkles of light gently moved around Emil. They passed through his being and whispered, shouted, and cried into his soul.

He couldn't understand this malady. It was like the illness was confusion itself.

As the black sparkle formed he could sense the presence of his youngest sister and he calmed a bit but he also doubled his efforts.

He allowed his consciousness to dive deeper into Anis' soul well as he wrapped his own in dense layers of his named colors.

'Anis! Anis walk to me!' He allowed his "voice" to strongly project from his being as he searched for the core of his sister's being.

It seemed to be adrift but Emil was sure it was within her well and not her soul sea so this confused him.

As Emil sat behind his brothers and Struns his face in a grimace as he redoubled his efforts.

As Rachel stepped forward Anis "woke-up". Her amethyst eyes focused on Rachel and a ghost of a smile appeared and quickly vanished from her lips.

She never took her eyes from Rachel.

Rachel smiled knowingly and disappeared from the spot.

Rachel did not necessarily need her sister to look at her to enter into her soul well but it did make it easier.

She also understood what the answer she received actually meant when such a foreign smile crested her sister's lips.

Rachel asked if her sister was trapped in her own soul well or that of someone else? The answer she received was both hers and that of someone else.

To others this would be perplexing. How could she be in her well and simultaneously in someone else's? For an Azmin this was impossible because the well was like an actual organ, a structure with "physical" walls; while the soul itself was ethereal with boundaries that were transparent and lacking solidity. Within this amorphous space was the soul sea with the soul well at its center.

A person could project their soul as they wished with it forming into a scape that reflected the essence of the individual. If you are an unstable person your soul sea may present chaotic or be immersed in deep storms within the "sky".

But Rachel understood the "illness" at that point because she intrinsically understood her realm.

The core cosmos, her realm, actually had a form of a soul and this is what allowed the Milana to connect and intertwine with the realm.

In other words. Anis' illness was a manifestation of the limited success of the ritual.

Rachel knew that she needed to enter her sister's soul well so that the realm could understand the situation.

The realm was semi-sentient and acted on instinct. When it fully sensed Rachel it would release Anis… in theory that is.

If her first guess did not bare fruit Rachel would work out something else with Emil's help.

Just as she thought this she reached her sister's well and she felt a pulsing ripple of energy that smelled of Emil's red-blue aura.

She understood he was calling their sister and that she needed to act quickly. She allowed her color-name to ride along with Emil's but she spoke to the realm instead of her sister.

The realm conversed in spectrums of color and light. Rachel sent out patterns of long lines and dots of color.

Rachel's well trembled very slightly and patterns of long and short lines of colors returned to Rachel.

There was a sudden sound of suction. Possibly releasing but it could've been a connection; Rachel was unsure and thus froze in place and waited.

Before her there was movement of color and suddenly purple-white light separated from a vibrant, endless spectrum and shade of rainbow color.

The rainbow color pulled at Rachel with a sense of urgency. Rachel conveyed a sense of needing to ensure that Anis was okay through lines and dots of color.

The pulling stopped and rainbows of varying shades flowed out in different directions. At the same time Emil's voice came to her.

"Go Rachel. You may need to orient and calm the realm. I have Anis with me now."

Before he finished the rainbow light came back to her and she saw images of her brother and sister's transparent forms together with Emil's arm around Anis' waist as if he was supporting her.

Rachel nodded and allowed the rainbow light to pull her into the well of the realm.

As she opened her eyes she felt surrounded by rainbow bricks in a wide circle.

She felt herself lowering as she exited the ring of bricks and entered a large area that consisted of only a rainbow sea. No land could be seen.

Rachel hovered over the water; quiet ripples moved out from her position. Suddenly a large wave emanating from Rachel's left rapidly moved towards her.

It stopped, frozen, mere centimeters from her. The water had clear vertical divisions of subdued color. Everything stilled for a moment and different colors brightened dulled and brightened and dulled in varying patterns.

Rachel watched quietly. Then she extended a hand and created a similar wall except hers was above her head and the colors were in horizontal bands. She responded in a similar fashion and like this Rachel had a conversation with the realm until she became annoyed.

'You are speaking to fast. I understand you better if you speak directly to my soul.'

'Why do you refuse to learn my language?'

'I understand your language but when you are upset or excited you use words or dialect that I do not know.'

It took a moment for the realm to respond. 'Does this not mean that you do not fully know my language? Never mind. You need to bring order here. The chaos is far too pronounced here. Quiet it down.'

'I will return to Ambruce shortly to…'

'No. Abandon that for now. The chaos is emanating from my most central point.' There was a slight pause. 'You, your family, and those other two need to enter the amber palace and secure the color well there. The colors are no longer flowing as they should. When you arrive you will understand.'

Rachel stood quietly for a long while. Not because of what was said but because it was said. The realm had never given her a mission before. She knew that it could but it had never actually happened.

For the entire time she had been Milana the realm was always a being that acted on instinct. She knew that it was not that simple and that the realm actively directed the Milana but it was still surprising for it to give direct orders.

She was not sure why but she was sure that she usually acutely sensed chaos yet she could not sense it in her own realm. This was a but worrisome.

She stood dazed for a long moment and she did not wake from her contemplating until she felt the realm once again "speak" to her.

'You are strong Milana and you can defeat and maintain the chaos alone but it is time for the Azmin to evolve and change how they exist within and interact with the cosmoi. You must teach them and help them to develop into what is needed.'

This time she was absolutely dumbfounded. She had to teach?! They had to evolve? She was sure a horrible headache was about to bloom.

She just wanted to sit within the realm's soul well and take a vacation.

Just as she had this notion a arched rainbow door opened before her and she was pushed through it.

Her eyes opened wide 'Did you just throw me out?!'

'I am tired and you were not leaving.'

Rachel was sure she felt an illusory shrug wash over her as she appeared within a long circular corridor made of revolving bands of color.

She was not alarmed because she knew that this was the connection between her soil well and the soul well of the realm.

'It seems I was not put out I was merely put to the outer edge. But this is the same thing isn't it.' She internally thought as she reached above for the door to her sister's room.