Pasiphaë

393 AC - It was an odd sensation, like a premonition. It had flowed through me like a balm, almost a tingling or numbing feeling. It had taken me many minutes to realize that it was a call. A call for help. The first time I'd felt the Skein outside of my Musubi, I'd been surprised by how soft and natural its touch could be. My impression of it was still based on my initial experiences during the ritual that bonded Taru and me. It had been invasive, as if our souls had been rewritten into one. But Saskia had asked me to close my eyes and sink into a meditative state. Then she asked me to relax and open myself up as much as possible… to let the walls around my mind fall. It had entered softly, like a warm and comforting rain shower. Like a flower that opens and unfurls its petals, it had blossomed within me.

But here, in the City of Scholars, the Skein filament that had gripped me didn't have the same tenderness. It was throbbing, like a pain. It's as if it was telling my pain receptors to pay attention. I don't know if I would have understood if I hadn't experienced the Skein before. But I instinctively knew that this contact meant me no harm, and I had let my walls crumble. Immediately, Teija had manifested Pasiphaë next to me. It was exactly the same as when I would materialize things to help Taru, despite the distance. Although the Alterer couldn't communicate with words, she had used the Muna network to incarnate what she had in mind at my side. And Pasiphaë had set off right away, as if she knew exactly where she needed to go. Using the Naali, I materialize a harness around the Eidolon so I can lower her down the well where Teija is imprisoned. She had been remarkably clever. She had called the Minotaur to her and sent Pasiphaë to guide me to them.

Pasiphaë is the daughter of Helios, god of the Sun, and Perse, one of the Oceanid nymphs. Her sister is Circe, and like her, she too is a talented sorceress. As the wife of Minos and witch-queen of Crete, she is a victim of her husband's pride when he disobeys Poseidon's commands. She is cursed to fall in love with the white bull that was to serve as an offering to the god of the sea, and through this love she becomes the mother of the Minotaur.

AKESHA