Scarlet River Part 2

The now unconscious man fell hard to the ground, the result of the spear no longer holding him in place and Anhur making absolutely no effort to catch him. The most he did was turn him over with the combination of his foot and the blunt end of his weapon. "I suggest you get into a position to heal. You may only open up access to her power in short bursts at a time. I can't be certain."

"Very well." Samira walked to the man's side and lowered herself to her knees. Normally she would have been able to heal anyone while far away and with a simple wave of her hand. Now she had been reduced to less than what a basic nonmagical medic was capable of. "What is next?" The summoner asked after placing her hands over the open wound, in the air and inches above where it actually was. Although applying pressure to slow the bleeding would have been the wisest thing to do Samira chose to not do that. She had very little interest in touching the blood of a stranger that could be infected with practically anything. Looking up at Anhur, Samira waited for a reply.

"A portal to Apophis exists within your mind. His main portal was closed an age ago and that direct link of a portal you have is what is used to access his powers and call him. That is why I suggested him for an easy route to accessing your magic. It is already an active source inside you that exists despite what the laws of this place try to impose. Not for lack of trying. The invisible power of this place is formidable." Anhur slowly paced around as he spoke, the state of keeping still beginning to agitate him. "Currently we can put the main portals of the others in a similar category. They are inaccessible and forced closed here. Although their link may be cut off magically from you for the most part they are still bound to your mind, body, and soul. You should be able to find the portals that exist in your mind space and open them. This should allow their power to bypass the force that closes the main gateways."

"So it is creating a type of back door then," Samira concluded after listening to the avatar's words.

"That is one way to put it. I don't think you have the ability to keep these portals open permanently. That will require more training and time than we have, but even a temporary crack should be enough for now." He knew well enough that what he was suggesting took more than magical strength. It was mental. He had a similar mental portal that connected to the power of his original. It was permanent and always open even there. That was a combination of both time and the crutch of his original making that possible. Similar to the portal of Apophis in Samira's mind space. Samira's mental stability and power were strong. He knew that well enough. After all, she was usually always mentally connected to more spirit avatars than anyone ever should have been at any one time. Still, it wasn't enough to blast all the doors open without the required training.

"Agreed." Anything was better than nothing. Samira did wonder why that tactic would only work on the desert spirits. It sounded plausible enough that the mind portals of her other avatar spirits could be opened the same way regardless of location. The question would have to be asked later. Enough time had been spent doing nothing but talking. "So all I am to do is explore my mind space and hope I can find the shortcut to Isis' portal in a very short amount of time."

(Word Count: 633
Total So Far: 10,676)

"Without alerting Apophis. He's more likely to trap you there until you agree to unleash him instead."

"He is incapable of doing that for the most part. I just have to ignore his words if he attempts to distract me. I believe I have gained much experience with that already throughout the years." Samira's words were confident enough and she did believe that the usual tricks of the snake were now beneath her. Still, she'd never truly underestimate him. She'd be a fool to do so.

"I suppose there is no better way to do this than to just jump in. I trust you will keep watch here?"

"I am bound to do so even in hopeless cases of absolute stupidity."

Samira chuckled lightly. "Funny." Anhur's presence was now ignored. The summoner now focused her gaze and all attention on her new task of acquiring power and healing the man Anhur had injured. She doubted the guard had woken up that day with being a magical guinea pig in mind but daily life could take some twists every now and again. Maybe he'd live to see the next surprise in his life.

The Goddess of Ishgar closed her eyes to begin forcing herself into a sort of meditative state. That part was always easy enough to do. Tuning out the world around her came naturally. First, she was blind to it. Then the sounds faded. The touch of the physical world was ignored. Scents. Taste. All senses were gone as she went deeper into her trance until she was fully absorbed into the world of her mind.

The mind of the summoner was a large place. In theory, it was likely everyone's mind was the same. Subconscious spaces that could be classified as entirely separate worlds. A part of her own mind was always used for her spirit avatars. It was a safe place where they could stay connected and keep watch over her. In a way, they could do the same from their own realm but it wasn't as close or convenient. That special place in her mind was likely out of Samira's reach. It had never been a place she had seen before in an unconscious state. Only the darker areas of her mind had been explored. And only a couple of them in short intervals. The area of Apophis was an example of such a place. The main area was also likely empty right then anyway. She had to forget about it and focus on only one path. Else she risked getting lost.

(Word Count: 426
Total So Far: 11,102)

11,000 used for 100Y freeform
102 words for next freeform