World Tree MUSH

Raven had chosen hyrule as her place to perform this dark ritual. For... who knew why? Either way, a rather large pentagram had been formed into the ground and in the center of said pentagram?

Candy cains, some tree ornaments and a stocking. That's right. She was attempting to summon santa. A book on rituals was open besides her and she crossed her legs, closing her eyes as she focused. "Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos..." she chanted as she rose into the air...

In retrospect, mayyyyybe doing this within sight of one of the roads that people occasionally traveled on wasn't the bed idea...

    Dark rituals on the side of the road are one way to get attention. Rydia had been in a nearby town when some spooked passerby had mentioned catching sight of a female Wizzrobe performing the dark arts by the road, and hopped onto her trusty avian steed to see what the ruckus was all about.
    Soon enough the tromp-tromp-tromp of the big yellow bird can be heard coming down the road at a gallop, the tiny rider in green tugging at the reins to slow the bird down when she sees the spell circle. The offerings. The dark cape and hears the ominous chanting and...
    "... Raven. What are you doing summoning things in the middle of the road?" She asks, tone as absolutely flat as her expression when she sees what's going on.

Raven actually jumped. "W-what? Did I mo--" She stopped when she realized... Yes. She wasn't on the road. Why was-- "GAH! Rydia? Oh gosh, that... other one isn't with you, is she?" she asked, looking around for some sign of sheik. But there was none! She looked around before...

"Okay... just... you. Huh? Ummmm..." She glanced to the ritual and felt her cheeks going red. "I was just.... I mean, I was trying to summon something that was supposed to be good and... Hyrule has a lot of power flowing through it." Also, it was so screwed up that, hey, if she screwed it up, things couldn't really... get worse. She poked her fingers together a bit timidly.

At least the light bringer wasn't here. That girl TERRIFIED her!

    It only takes the child a second to dismount, swinging her leg over and off the saddle in a practiced motion as she hops off the bird and doesn't even bother tying off its reins. She just lets the chocobo wander a little, he'll come back when called anyway. But she sets her hands on her hips and looks skeptically at the summoning circle drawn on the ground.
    "It must be something special if you're trying to call it with candy." She quips, lips pursing into a thin line. "It's just me. Sheik is elsewhere. What exactly were you trying to call on, again?"

Raven coughed. "E-err, well, um. Y-you may not have been aware of it, but, err. I don't know if they have it in your world, but, err..." she was looking more and more sheepish as the words came out. "Across many of the dimensions, there are stories of a magical spirit by the name of St. Nicolas, more commonly known as Santa Claus," she said, her cheeks burning.

"His magical powers seem to be incredible, and judging by what I have read, he cares deeply for good and despises evil. I wished to ask for his aid in a matter. Unfortunately, I am not the most... talented at summoning rituals, so I have yet to have figured out the proper measurements."

Oh dear heavens she was serious. "Though... he.... may just wish to not speak with me..." she mumbled, a tad dejectedly.

    So Raven really WAS trying to summon something. Though Rydia still eyes the spell circle in a speculative manner as she gets the explanation.
    "Never heard of a Santa Claws." The girl says matter of factly. "It's not one of the Eidolons I've ever heard of." Muttered as the mists that linger around her swirl and she runs her fingers through it as though giving it an absent caress.
    "First off, you're going about the ritual the wrong way entirely." She points out. "You need more than candy to call spirit, and when it comes you better be ready. Because before an Eidolon will give you the right to call on them you have to defeat them in combat to earn their respect."

Raven blinked a few times, cocking her head to the side and then.... Pulled out the book on christmas stories. "Are... you sure? It says here that he comes, every year, for a.... tribute of milk and cookies. Now, I tried to make the cookies but, ummmm..." she trailed off and then shuddered in horror. "They became coal."

.... Became... Coal.

"However, I have managed to narrow it down to the symbols of them. A stocking, taken from a child of innocence. Candy canes, from a charitious servant of the Claus. And trees... I bought them at a small market for a few bucks. Used, so I'm sure they;ve seen a few good holidays."

... What in the world kind of summoning did she do? "All should have been connected to the Saint in the past, and may draw him here."

    Oh there's a book. Is it some kind of ancient tome? A spellbook? A text of ancient rituals and summoning lore? Perhaps Rydia could learn something. So when Raven pulls out the book of Christmas lore of ancient days of yore, Rydia is practically over the older girl's shoulder to read along.
    Cookies... Milk... Coal, stockings, and trees...
    "Raven..." Rydia says, a hand setting on the young sorceress' shoulder.
    "... Raven this is a children's book." She says with a level of gentleness that one would use when breaking some very bad news to an actual child. "These are stories. Whether they're true or not, I don't have any clue." She admits, because she's never heard a single story about santa in her world at all.
    "Try lower heat and less time if the cookies became coal. And you may need to wait for a certain time of day or year most connected to 'Santa Claws' for the ritual to be the most powerful. Some creatures are time reliant."

Raven flushed and then.... She held out her hand, drawing out... dozens of books. "Yes. As is this. And this. And this. And this is a story of mythos. And this is a book on the history of santa clause," she said, turning around to face the woman and staring her in the eye.

"Each from a different world. Each echoing the same story. The same mythos. Of a mage who is of good, and kindness. who travels the world to deliver happiness and joy. Someone who seems to transcend... the barriers between our worlds himself."

".... Maybe it's all coincidences..." she said, her voice low. "Maybe I'm... wrong... But... it's not like I have a lot of options. I've... not run into anything powerful enough to stop..." There were tears forming in her eyes.

"If they are this... powerful... this mighty... this good? Maybe.... Maybe they can do something. They are the antithesis of everything he is. An almost... universal constant that travels through different worlds, different dimensions. That somehow... exists..." She then turned.

"I... suppose that would be on a.... christmas..." she mumbled. "Perhaps you're right... I still... want to... I have to try..."

    Books. Books, books, and more books. As Raven pulls out the varied texts and tomes of Christmas tales and fables, Rydia paws through several of them. Quick glances that confirm her suspicions. Fairy tales and myths all of them, but they only make the girl purse her lips in thought for a moment.
    "All of these came from different worlds?" She asks for confirmation. The depictions may differ in some cases, speaking of a creature called the Krampus, or depicting the portly old saint as a magical elf, but the gist is the same. A venerable, wise, and just old man who rewards the good and punishes the wicked. "He almost makes me think of Ramuh." She murmurs at length, before plopping down for a sit in the dirt beside thge older socrceress.
    "Well. I mean. It's not uncommon for myths to have some basis in reality." She points out, reaching a hand up to brush the tears from Raven's cheeks with a gentle touch.

Raven nods. "Exactly." She turned to her circle and moved to the edge. "And so... If I just try... if I just... work hard enough..." she whispered. Slowly, she held a hand out. Darkness formed in her hand. "What's the worse that can happen? If it all comes from one truth, then maybe I can tap into it... and if it is just a myth, a story, across all these worlds... well.. Then nothing happens... If this fails, I--"And the shadows lanced out and cut her hand, dropping a few drops of blood on the seal...

Which erupted into flame. She squeaked, stumbling back and panting. It was just supposed to be a little life force, but as the fire's burned... she felt more and more of her energy being sucked out. "T-that's not, that wasn't... W-what?" she asked. "It's not supposed to do it? Did I do something wr--" And then the... It wasn't that the offerings were burned. Oh no. It was far worse. The candy cane turned dark and bladed, with.... a red liquid forming on it. The stocking seemed to be... the red seemed to be leaking out, like blood on the ground. And the ornaments? Where once they displayed elves and happy workers.... now they showed demons and monsters and....

Then they all burned away. Raven stumbled back, shaking in horror. "That.... can't.... why would..." And then flames filled the air. When they died.... a demon stood there. Four red eyes. White hair. And... a cruel grin.

Raven's eyes went even wider. "R-rydia. R-run. I'm sorry. RUN!" She screamed, holding out her right hands... Right as the demon send out black and red lightning, striking her in the chest and making her scream in pain, sending her hurtling back against the ground, skidding a few feet and moaning...

Then the demon's eye's turned to Rydia...

    And then... And then things go so wrong.
    Rydia is more than aware that Raven is more in tune with darkness than the light, seeind the shadows dance on the sorceress' palm is no surprise to her. After all, if Cecil is anything to go by, there are good people who harness the darkness. So there is no judgement in the girl's eyes until she sees the cut opening on Raven's palm. "What are you d-"
    And then the blood falls upon the magic rune drawn on the ground. "No! Don't just make a blood sacrifice to something you don't kn--"
    But it is too late, and the flames rage; the ornaments become twisted mockeries of their former jolly cheer and...
    Raven has summoned something that is very much not Santa Claus.
    It all happens so fast; the lightning bolt lashing out. But rather than run, Rydia almost reflexively draws the dagger at her belt and the whip coiled at her hip.
    That is a Demon. ... That is a Demon. An unholy thing from another world, brought here by an improper summoning ritual. And Rydia can't just let it run rampant in Hyrule. She does not run.
    "Get back up!" She snaps at Raven, the seven year old's voice shrill.
    She's already shaking. But she'll be damned if she lets this thing see the fear clutching at her heart as she hauls Raven's arm over a shoulder and starts trying to haul her back to her feet.

Raven groaned, looking up. "W-what in the..."

The demon lifted a hand, shooting another bolt. But, thanks to Rydia's help, she was able to raise a hand and a dome of darkness formed in front of her, blocking the blast. The demon stepped forward, the blast of lightning pounding on the barrier. "Hello, sister," the demon said coldly.

The look on Raven's face was enough. One of pure horror. "Y-you're not... y-you can't be--" The distraction was enough. The barrier faulted... And lightning came at them.

Raven wrapped her arms around Rydia and the two were enveloped in darkness. It was like some... empty... void. An infinite darkness, from which there was no escape. Space, if there were no stars. Except...

It only lasted a moment, and they were back, appearing from a portal, near Rydia's bird. "R-rydia. Get... o-out of here. I'm sorry, this is my mistake. I'll handle it," she said, turning to it. "It's not... real. It's just a projection. If I can damage it enough it--"

And then another blast struck her, archning through her body and making her scream, though at least this time she didn't fall, instead forming another barrier of shadow... before falling to her feet.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so sorry get out of here!"

    There's a flinch. For a moment, Rydia had expected to eat that bolt and then it would all be over. But it doesn't come when the darkness wraps her and deflects the impact.
    Sister?
    Green eyes narrow when the darkness fades and Raven tries to shoo Rydia onto her mount.
    "... Chocobo. Go. And don't come back until I call you." She snaps at the bird, which twitters confusedly, before she hisses it off.
    "I'm not leaving." She replies, voice strained. The initial shock is wearing off, and though the flames from before had her reeling, she begins to rally and recover when the demon wields not fire, but lightning.
    She can deal with lightning, as trembling hands rise. Fingers jerk into a practiced series of somatic motions. A spell circle forms at her feet in lines of glowing green light... If they can just damage the projection enough, Raven said.
    "Unicorn! Come now!" Rydia calls out, voice sharp and commanding.
    It's only a matter of seconds before the thundering beat of hooves can be heard in the distance. And then it comes. A one creature stampede; a flash of silver like a sliver of moonlight on a snowy night, the unicorn emerges from the brush in a full charge, head tilted low, aimed to gore the infernal image with its holy horn.

Raven watched the chocobo go. "W-what? No! You need to go! He won't kill me, but he will kill you! Please, just--"

And then UNICORN! She held out both hands to hold up her barrier... And the demon turned just in time to see the horn and... Well. As vulnerable as she was to holy damage...

The demon was full demon. The horn hit it... and in a blinding flash of light, the creature was gone. Raven stood there, staring. Her eyes widened.

She just... stared. "It's... beautiful..." she whispered, her voice low. She'd always wanted to see one. I mean, yes, she was still a girl and... unicorns were... well...

However, if it came closer, she'd shy away, reaching back to lift her hood up. There was... just a hint of longing there, on her face. But this... creature? This animal? It was a being of light. A being of kindness. Of good. Of wonder and amazement.

And she? she was a monster. An abomination. Something that.... existed. But never should have. "I'm sorry..." she whispered. "I... never should have tried this..." Her fist's clenched and tears formed in her eyes. "I never should have risked it around others. You could have been killed and it would have been my fault... I am so sorry..." she whispered, not even looking Rydia in the eye.

    The unicorn strikes true, and the ghastly reflection of one of Raven's very own siblings vanishes. And almost instantly, Rydia collapses to her knees, panting and breathless. Shaking with adrenaline and exertion from the sudden summoning of the holy beast. She's still even rubbing at her eyes from the blinding flash.
    The unicorn does not remain long, though; curiously pawing in place, before tilting its horn down to scratch out the spell circle on the ground and stamp it out with a hoof. It turns to face the two, staring for a beat with vividly intelligent silver eyes, before turning to return to the brush from whence it came, vanishing like a splinter of moonlight through the clouds.
    It takes Rydia a long moment to return to her feet, and she wobbles. Though she reaches up with a hand to brush away the tears again.
    "From now on... Leave the summoning to me, okay?"

Raven blinked and stared at Rydia. The girl... didn't say anything about the failure. About what the demon said. About what... So neither did Raven. She just nodded.

And then she pushed in and hugged her. Tight. "T-thank you..." Rydia... probably didn't know Raven that well. Didn't know how rare it was for the girl to touch others, willingly.

But Raven hugged her. Held her close. "I'm sorry... Thank you..." she whispered. "And I won't.... I won't try it like that again... Thank you..." she whispered, hugging the other girl and shaking a bit.

Sometimes a person just needed a hug. "I... I still want to meet santa... though.... but I don't think I should do the ritual. I'll... I'll find another.... way... This won't happen again."

    And Raven has no clue how such a gentle moment from Rydia is so rarely shown. The truth is, for all the hardship she's seen, so young, the child is kind at heart. Even if she's a bit sharp tongued.
    It's the hug that Rydia did not see coming. And the physical contact makes the green-haired girl tense; stiffening awkwardly before she affords the teen sorceress a gentle, albeit horribly awkward pat-pat on the side. When the hug breaks, Rydia clears her throat, shifting from one foot to the other.
    "Y-yeah... For the time being, no more summonings. And definitely not in Hyrule. Sheik would have a fit if she found out. I won't tell her about it this time. But next time, wait for December before you try calling ancient elves."