melding illusion into reality

At first Anabel didn't really know how to save Solnm. She knew she would find a way because he was not originally like this and he became this way due to a type of conditioning.

No one needed to tell her this. When she understood the illusion within the cave and then the intent behind it she knew Solnm had been conditioned to believe that he needed to be within an illusion. She did not feel this was done through magic so her issue was how do you break a psychological cue on an entity that was sentient but learned all its self awareness within an illusion.

Alchemist had a lot of innate knowledge when they were born but their personalities were created like all other lifeforms. Through experience, gained knowledge, sometimes tradition, but it was mostly a learned thing.

Solnm was a natural alchemist. He was born of a ritual that was the center of a strong illusion based rite. An illusion of creation, being, and control. As the rite was completed Caremela sent a burst of magic into its core causing a magic flare that poured magic into the rite. All of this caused the ritual to fail but because the ritual had extra magic within it an Alchemist was born within the swirling magic.

When the magic was about to explode the new alchemist was told how to smother the process and become the embodiment of the backlash caused by equivalent exchange.

Each individual was allowed to choose to become and bear the burden or to cease in being and allow their ceasing to exist to be the price paid in compensation for the equivalent exchange.

Solnm chose to exist and Caremela instantly chose how his existence would be. Because it took a few moments for an alchemist to truly become aware Caremela was able to gain a control over Solnm that he would feel was his truth and was there from his beginning.

He was young, unlearned, unexperienced. He merely accepted what and who he was told he was as fact and without question.

Amethyst sat with her father watching her mother and Marela working on an intricate spell. The illusions swirled above them, visible for all to see, Solnm laid still in a place that was between reality and illusion and Caremela stood near Anabel and Marela, looking on blankly.

Anabel was in a trance. The whites of her eyes showing as she looked ahead and her hands in motion casting spell after spell trying to bring Solnm out of the illusion in a way that he did not need to ever go back. She did not want loopholes, she did not want possibilities that could draw him back into the situation.

The spell crashed upon illusion to shatter, reform, restructure, and try again. Every time her spell crashed against the illusions before them the illusion became brittle and weakened ever so slightly.

A new spell arched from her and rose above the illusion and she suddenly had an epiphany. She turned and her sclera seemed to shimmer a light blue as she looked at a specific portion of the illusion. Three spells simultaneously landed on this spot.

One was a counter spell. It would enter into the illusion and begin breaking it down in a way that anyone trapped within it would slowly awaken and become aware. Solnm didn't actually need this because of he was already aware. This spell was going to help the illusion meld as Rachel wanted it to.

The second spell was a spell of weaving. She was using this one to weave aspects of the illusion to Solnm's soul. This would essentially be a temporary solution for the situation. As Solnm grew and understood who he was, improved his abilities, and had more experiences he would be able to completely separate from the illusion himself.

The final spell was essentially a protective ward that would help Solnm to stabilize and maintain his being. It would also cause the unneeded parts of the illusion to be expelled and sever them from Solnm.

Anabel began to work a bit faster as her plan solidified within her and she believed that it would actually work.

The spells spun around the illusion and integrated themselves into it without problem. The illusion began to dissolve like a freshly painted watercolor splashed with water. Solnm's form was encased in a golden light as the wards protected him from backlash.

"Hmm. It would seem that traps were set to spring when he tried to break free from the illusions."

Hearing Marela speak Allistar's hand shot out and Caremela was flung to the ground and pinned down. Amethyst had stood but her father had acted so fast she could only breathe heavily and look at the prone alchemist.

"Maybe we should keep such things to ourselves Marela."

"Why? She deserves whatever she gets at this point."

"You are still a part of the council. You have to protect her just as you have to protect him."

"Hmph!" Marela's lips pursed as she helped dismantle the unneeded parts of the illusion and set up the needed parts to be melded with Solnm.

Anabel had begun stitching the illusion to Solnm soul with intricate soul ties. They were intricate because, once they were complete, the only people who would be able to undo them would be Solnm, Amethyst, Anabel, or Marela.

As she stitched Marela and her spells continued working until Marela sat back and then moved to Caremela.

"Anabel can finish the rest. Come with me Caremela. I do not think you should be here when he returns and you do not deserve to ever see him again."

"He is mine Grand Mistress. He will always have a connection with me."

"Your connection will be severed. Do you believe that I will allow you to take anything from either of my children?!"

When Anabel spoke all of them felt a chill run down their spines. Caramela's face turned up to the sky and she opened her mouth in a silent scream. Her chest rose as her back arched. A thick black stream slime pulled from her abdomen. A large mass of slimy blackness pulled from her and her mouth opened even wider.

The mass moved to Anabel and a wide black hole with viscous black slime oozing from it was left in Caramela's abdomen. She fell forward and began coughing up blood.

Anabel took the black mass with the black tendril attached to it. It spun as one mass before her and became a bright white ball with a blue core. Marg came forward and took the white ball.

It spun in her small hands as she refined and purified the mass even more. As she did this black specks amassed next to her. When she was done the black specks of slime were placed in a vial and the ball became so bright that it was hard to look at.

The ball moved and hovered over Solnm. Anabel's hands moved faster and faster as she continued stitching the illusion to Solnm's soul.

She slowed and brought the ball forward. She took in a deep breath and pulled several strands of time towards the ball. When the time strands touched the ball she injected a time spell into it that caused the ball to become larger and increased the blue core.

This was a time balance within a time manipulation and binding spell. As Anabel balanced the now purified time manipulation and binding spell Marela pulled Caremela through a portal.

Caremela's eyes were wide in surprise. She looked from Anabel to Solnm and as the portal closed she saw her time spell and tether that had now become a time stabilization spell and anchor enter Solnm. Rage bubbled up within her as she thought about her experiment being ruined.