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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gideonpepys" data-source="post: 7922003" data-attributes="member: 79141">Session 258, Part EightRound 22The energy tendril jumped to ‘9’.Two pillars had descended, and the unit benefited from two corresponding boons: they were bathed with the healing energies of the Life pillar, and they were all granted a little extra Time – time they desperately needed if they were to fix the ritual according to their design it before Rumdoom was able to destroy it.Uru used his mastery over spirits to draw Gupta’s family out of Borne.  Then, in desperate hope, he summoned what he called the ‘spirit of the world’ to help them by lifting up the Earth pillar.  To his surprise, he received a reply:“I’m already here,” said a soothing voice. “And I’m already doing it.”  Sure enough, the Earth pillar began to rise!  “Are you the one making all the pillars return, too?” asked Uru.“Of course I am,” said the spirit of the world, benignly.Gupta used Leon’s portals to move to Death and lift it. Linia had both Av and Iratha Ket in her hands. Despite warnings from the others, she felt she would be able to install both icons, and pressed on in her attempt to do so.  She failed.  At once, the energy tendril jumped to her position and Linia – not protected by the sacrament of apotheosis – was vaporised in an instant.Korrigan lamented such a senseless waste.  The angel had been too headstrong, and now she was gone.  Anyone else would have survived the attempt! Shaking his head, he picked up the icons and put them in place himself.  Nestled between them, he pinned a feather from Linia’s wings which had escaped incineration.Matunaaga sped around the battlefield, picking up and handing out icons.  Uru took Dunkelweiss.Leon asked Borne to raise the Time pillar again, then placed both Ascetia and Teykfa within it.  As a master of the arcane, his attempt succeeded.Quratulain was flying to intercept Rumdoom, although she had no idea what she would do when she crossed paths with him: he was heading for the golden seal, hammer raised. As she sped along she tried to make a prediction – where would they find the icon of Mavisha?  Even as she wondered, the icon appeared in Kai’s hands.“Uncle Uriel knew we would need it!” shouted Kai, happily.“You mean you fellas really didn’t have it?” mused Pemberton.As Rumdoom flew past, Quratulain patted him encouragingly on the back.  “Good luck,” she said.  Then she drew both her pistols and emptied them pointlessly into his back.Gupta stood in wonder, then said:  “We need to complete this now. Something final is about to happen.”  Rumdoom arrived at the centre of the golden seal.  He raised the Stone of Not and muttered runes of destruction. The Stone of Not began to glow. Round 23Uru ducked through Leon’s portal and placed Dunkelweiss in the Earth pillar, alongside Mojang.  Then the Earth pillar was lowered.  Uru gave thanks to the World Spirit, who he knew in that instant to be the being they once called Uriel.Gupta lowered the Death pillar.  Korrigan stepped through a portal and Borne lifted the Space pillar. Korrigan swapped out Urim for Mavisha. “Much obliged,” said Pemberton, as Borne dropped it into place.Matunaaga watched serenely.  The need for further effort was over. Korrigan gathered the others to him, through the portals.Rumdoom stood with the glowing Stone still raised above his head. He toyed with the idea of saying a few words, but realised that he didn’t really having anything to add.  He’d proved his point.  But he did have a yen to bring Hildegard here, if she wanted to come.  Some time ago, they’d been linked with magic runes that enabled Hildegard to follow her husband across any battlefield, but as the sacrament could not extend to her, she had remained behind. Now Rumdoom asked her if she would like to join him in this moment, though the risks were great, and when she said yes, those runes brought her to him. A moment later, with his wife by his side, Rumdoom struck the golden seal with the Stone of Not.With the fragment of a dead sun driven firmly into its centre, the ritual was complete, and the sky blazed brightly.  A final burst of energy bathed everyone at the site.Rumdoom and Hildegard vanished in a blaze of light.In later days, Skyseers the world over reported the appearance of a new, binary star system in the night sky, and at once understood its origin.  It would come to be known as ‘Avatar Plus One’, and would be revered by Rumschatologists everywhere.End of Session</blockquote>

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