Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

134 - The Power of Prayer

Cozy was on her knees, eyes closed and whispering prayers as she touched a hoof to her holy symbol, when Lex reentered the makeshift operating area where her husband’s body lay.

Across from her, the single remaining doctor – a white-coated mare with a mane and tail striped with alternating bands of green – looked up at him and Sonata as they entered, the awkward expression on her face changing into one of uncertainty as she stepped towards them. “Do you know what she’s doing?” asked the medical pony, clearly not sure what to make of the crystal mare’s actions. “I tried to talk to her a few times, but it’s like she can’t hear me.”

“I’ll handle this,” replied Lex dismissively. “You may leave.”

The medical mare paused at that, not sure whether to bristle at being so casually told to go away or be relieved that she didn’t have to deal with the deceased pony’s widow. The latter won out a moment later, and she started to walk past Lex, only to stop as she remembered something. “Listen, we…” She glanced back at Cozy, then lowered her voice as she looked at Lex again. “We’re going to need to do something about the body. We-”

“I told you to leave,” interrupted Lex, his voice chilly.

“But we don’t have any way to preserv-”

Sonata stepped forward, putting herself in the other mare’s face with a strained smile. “We got this. Like, totes.”

For a moment the doctor looked like she wanted to say something else, but apparently decided against it as she nodded and then walked away without another word, leaving Lex and Sonata alone with Cozy and Pillow’s sheet-covered body. For a moment, Lex simply regarded the crystal ponies, trying to figure out what to say. Sonata, however, found the silence too uncomfortable to bear, and walked over to where Cozy was kneeling. “Hey…” she called softly, trying to get the crystal mare’s attention. When no reply came, she crouched down beside her. “Cozy?” Still no response. Licking her lips, she tried again. “I just…I wanted to say how sorry we are, Lex and me, about Pillow. Um…” She trailed off again, glancing at Lex in a silent plea for help. His only response was to tilt his head at her, obviously not getting why she was looking at him. Huffing slightly, she kept going. “I-if there’s, like, anything at all we can do to help…”

Lex tensed at that, expecting that Cozy would immediately leap at the offer and demand that he bring her husband back to life. But to his mild surprise, no such entreaty came. Instead Cozy simply ignored them, continuing to pray silently. Seeing Sonata bite her lip as she stood back up, he decided that there was no point in his reaching out to the bereaved mare. Instead, he stepped towards Pillowcase’s body, telekinetically pulling the sheet back so that his head was exposed, reaching into his haversack to withdraw a gem as he did so. “I’m going to preserve the body,” he explained, more for Sonata’s benefit than Cozy’s.

That, however, seemed to get Cozy’s attention.

“No.” She didn’t move as she spoke, still kneeling with her eyes shut. But as soon as she word left her lips she let out a sigh and slowly stood up, her face completely devoid of expression as she looked at Lex. “Don’t touch him.”

Sonata gulped, glancing back and forth between the other two before settling on Cozy. “Um…”

“I heard what you said,” replied Cozy, anticipating what Sonata was going to say. Her eyes slid over to the other mare, but there was no warmth there, nor anger, sadness, or anything at all. “I appreciate the sentiment, Sonata. Really I do. But I’m fine.”

Lex’s brow creased just slightly at that. Cozy’s behavior didn’t match how she’d been acting up until now. During their efforts to rescue Pillowcase, she had fretted and cried ceaselessly; that she should be so composed now that he had died made no sense whatsoever. Although he knew that she had no magic worth noting, the juxtaposition between her actions and his expectations was enough to make him tense. “I find that hard to believe,” he said warily.

Cozy looked back at him. “Believe what you like, but leave Pillow alone. I don’t want your magic interfering with Lashtada’s.”

Lex’s eyes narrowed, but it was Sonata that spoke up. “What do you mean? Are you casting a spell?”

“I will be,” answered Cozy, “once Lashtada grants me the magic to bring Pillow back. Or maybe she’ll do it herself. Either way, I don’t want anypony else’s magic getting in the way when it happens.” Her voice was filled with absolute conviction, and she continued to rub her holy symbol as she spoke. “I’m sure it’ll be very soon now. Any minute. I just need to pray a little bit more…” Lex frowned as her words reminded him of something she’d said several days ago, when he was leading her and her friends back to the shelter. The question of bringing the dead back to life had come up, and he’d mentioned that it was beyond his power, but it had been Cozy that confirmed that it was possible at all…

“I couldn’t even heal Drafty’s sickness, remember? No, what I meant is that Princess Cadance told us that it was possible when she introduced Lashtada to the Crystal Empire. She told us that if we had enough love for Lashtada in our hearts that we could overcome anything, even death.”

Snorting derisively as he realized what the crystal mare was thinking, Lex spoke up again. “Cozy, that won’t work. Religious devotion is just a form of configuring your thoughts so as to be receptive to holding divinely-granted magical energy. It won’t increase your ability to actually wield that energy.” In that regard, it wasn’t much different from his own thaumaturgical spellcasting, which also stored spells within thoughts. The difference was that whereas he – and, for that matter, the spellcasters on Everglow that called themselves “wizards,” “arcanists,” and similar titles – bent their thoughts so as to encompass a highly-exacting set of instructions that precisely directed the energy encapsulated in their therein, faith-based spellcasters didn’t even try to understand the deeper workings of the spells they received. Instead, they conditioned their minds to faithfully accept the spells they received, trusting in their deity to program the magical instructions for them. Receiving divine spells without that level of faith, Lex knew, caused severe bodily harm. That disgusting human-pony hybrid he’d met on Everglow, Soft Mane, had learned that the hard way, losing the use of her eyes when Lashtada had seen fit to dragoon her into her service. He himself had only avoided a similar fate due to having inadvertently aligned his thoughts with the Night Mare’s principles as a consequence of how he’d lived his life…and even that was only enough to safely receive a smattering of spells from her.

But that wasn’t all there was to it. Even if you could structure your thoughts rigorously enough to contain energy within them, that energy still needed to be manipulated; otherwise it was impossible to transfer it from within your mind out into the wider world where it would have a tangible effect. Doing so required being able to actively visualize the nature of the effects while simultaneously pushing the energy out of your mind at a controlled rate while also simultaneously chanting the proper vocalizations and/or making precise gestures necessary to direct the spell.

In other words, it wasn’t enough to know what you were doing. You needed to be able to actually do it. And while Cozy had a least a modicum of ability in that regard, Lex had seen nothing to indicate that she was anywhere close to the requisite level of ability required to bring a dead pony back to life. If she developed that level of cognitive-energy direction, and continued to structure her thoughts via religious devotion, and if Lashtada saw fit to grant her the necessary magical energy, then she might someday be able to cast a resurrection spell. But right now that possibility was nonexistent.

And as for Lashtada personally reaching out to bring Pillowcase back… Lex’s own experience with deities suggested that they only showed up if actively summoned, and sometimes not even then. Given that Cozy’s prayers were a far cry from a magical ritual like the one he’d used to summon the Night Mare, he doubted that her goddess would be putting in a personal appearance anytime soon.

But Cozy was already kneeling back down, apparently having lost interest in listening to what he had to say. “You’re wrong. Lashtada is the goddess of love. I know she’ll bring Pillow back to me, I just need to have faith in her.” She closed her eyes again. “Please go away. I need to pray.”

Lex’s frown deepened, disgusted by her abject denial of reality. But that thought was immediately followed by another cutting barb from his shadow. You have no right to look down on her. Not after how you acted when Sonata left you, standing perfectly still in hope that if you didn’t move it wouldn’t be over.

The taunt made his spine go rigid with shame, and he grit his teeth as he turned to regard Pillow’s corpse. “Pray all you want,” he hissed. “I’m using a preservative spell on his body.”

Cozy’s eyes snapped open. “I said no.” Her voice was cold as she rose to her hooves again. “I won’t allow you to-”

At that moment Sonata sang a low series of notes, and a second later Cozy slumped to the ground, unconscious. And then there are some individuals who mold their thoughts to magic subconsciously and direct it intuitively, Lex thought wryly as he watched his girlfriend move the crystal mare into a more comfortable position, trying to push away the unwanted memory of when she’d broken off their relationship and how poorly he’d reacted to it.

Letting out a sigh as she finished with Cozy, Sonata looked over at Lex. “Okay, FYI, talking a grieving pony down when she doesn’t want you to do something is the sort of thing you should probably let your spokespony handle. I’m just sayin’.”

Huffing, Lex turned away from her without comment to regard Pillowcase. Lifting the gem he’d retrieved, he held it towards the crystal stallion’s dead body, chanting the words necessary to release the energies contained therein. There was no outward sign of the magic taking effect, but he felt the structure of the spell release and knew it had worked. Replacing the gem – which, since it had two more castings of that spell contained within it, had not crumbled – in his haversack, Lex covered the body again before turning to leave. “That will preserve his body for approximately ten days. After that I’ll need to use the spell again.”

Falling in beside him, Sonata nodded, silently hoping that by then Cozy would be better by then. Getting into a fight over what to do about her husband’s body would totes make things worse, for her and for Lex. “So, what now?”

In response to her question, Lex marched over to the medical area’s only other alcove. Stopping in front of the sheet that was hanging in front of the entrance, he raised his voice slightly. “Doctor House Call! Give me a status report on Fencer’s condition.”

Sonata winced. “Um, isn’t it, like, a super bad idea to interrupt a doctor when they’re in the middle of doctoring?”

Lex snorted. “Bedsheets have no ability to dampen sound, Sonata. If they’ve already been working with this level of background noise then my asking them for a report shouldn’t be an issue.”

Sure enough, a moment later House Call’s voice came back. “It’s going well. We should be done in another thirty minutes or so.”

“Once you’re finished, I want you to bring her out of anesthesia as soon as you safely can.”

“What? Why?” The confusion in House Call’s voice was plainly audible.

“So she can be sentenced,” answered Lex darkly. He didn’t wait for a response, turning to Sonata. “I want you to inform everypony that we’re going to move out very soon. Have them start getting ready and making whatever preparations they need to. As soon as I’ve passed judgment on Fencer, we’re marching on that blockade.”

Author's Note:

Cozy prays for a miracle, but Lex knows better than to expect one.

With her treatment almost done, Fencer's judgment is nigh!

Comments

[Not so New Brony]

Huh, so that's why Soft Mane's eyes became like that when she became Lashtada's oracle...and same probably applies to the firsts of Luna's followers. Provided that divine Equestrian magic has the same properties as those from the Everglow that is.

The preservation magic in the gem has enough charges to delay the decay for a total of 30 days then? What's the maximum length for a preservation, decades, centuries...eternity? Granted, the last one would probably be beyond mortal means without some divine or demonic assistance. Either way, this gives Lex time to either figure out how to acquire a means to resurrect Pillowcase or for Cozy to let Pillow go.

Of course, should Lex resurrect Pillow then Cozy's faith in Lashtada will be shaken if not discarded though the same applies even if Pillow isn't resurrected since she could perceive this as being abandoned by Lashtada.

Also, in reply to your comment from the previous chapter about things going smoothly for Lex, the only way I imagine it being so would be for the majority of Block Party's group accepting Lex's claims to be Vanhoover's new mayor and start obeying Lex and abandon Block. This is unlikely if what you've shown of Block and his actions are anything to go by. Most of them would be too cowed to disobey Block, whether they recognize Lex's claims or not.

Then again, with the exception of Block and his use of Everglow magic, his group seems to be mostly ill-equipped for a conflict with Lex if it turns to violence.

[Alzrius]

8362671 The divine magic Luna is beginning to dispense to her small cadre of worshipers is indeed the same as that used by the gods of Everglow. Hence, the reasons given in this fic are why that one follower of Luna's that we saw at the end of A Dangerous Sparkle had a withered foreleg.

As a note, it seems like a lot of what I'm doing lately is explaining the "how" of magic (and other esoteric topics). That's somewhat fun to come up with, but also a little annoying; times like this are when I wish the d20 System was a little less "gamist" in its approach to these topics, rather than leaving me (and everyone else who cares about the simulationist perspective) to try and fill in the blanks by myself.

The preservation magic that Lex put in that gemstone (a gentle repose spell) can be used in consecutive instances, though strictly speaking he could just cast the spell himself next time, which why why he mentioned that he could do it indefinitely. Lasting for well over a week is more than enough to let him prepare the spell on his own (via Severance) and then just cast it when necessary. His gem-stored spells are largely leftovers from when he had a much harder time being able to prepare new castings of his magic. That said, there's theoretically no limit to how long a body can be preserved, though the higher-level resurrection spells make that somewhat moot, since each one can reach further back (and needs less of a body) when bringing someone back to life.

As for Cozy's faith in her goddess...well, it's surely being tested right now.

What happens when Lex runs in Block Party's ponies is going to be interesting to see. It's clear that they're afraid of him, but that he (Block Party) is also manipulating them in order to keep their sense of self-worth up, so it's uncertain to what degree they'll stick with him in the event of a crisis. On the other hoof, they're already accustomed to doing things - violent things - that they don't want to do, as he's expertly worked to make them seem palatable after the fact. So it's going to be a mystery right up until it happens.

[DDDDDDDDD23]

It is not that lashtada does not care it is that. Care can not physically handle the energy yet.

[Booster Spice]

I thought magic flows were so difficult to cntrol because externilising the energy, to keep it away from th body, is s complex that by the time any researchers manage to do it, theyre at least a level higher for internalising that equivalent level.

Ten days. 1 day per level of spell caster?

At the level Cozy is, if she did cast Raise, she would be in the Life for a Life region at best?

[Alzrius]

8362778 That about sums it up. No matter how badly she wishes she could, Cozy simply can't handle that level of power. She might be able to someday, but not now.

[Alzrius]

8363118 Lex's gentle repose spell will last for ten days because the spell is indeed one day per caster level. Except that Lex, right now, has a caster level of twelve. So why the difference? It was because he put that particular spell into a gem a little while ago, back when his caster level was lower. Once you store a spell, its power is set, even if yours grows later on.

That said, I didn't understand your other questions.

EDIT: Okay, I went back and re-read what you wrote. In short, no, Cozy wouldn't be able to trade her life for Pillowcase's. That's because the specifics of these spells are set (since it's the deity in question - or their divine servitors - who grant them, and so they're the ones actually constructing them), and none of them have an option to trade one life for another. In order to make that alteration, Cozy would need to be able to personally alter the spells she receives, and that's not something she can do.

Likewise, the reason magic is difficult to control is because the process is incredibly complex. As this chapter notes, even if you can properly structure your thoughts so as to contain the requisite amounts of energy (and gather said energy, though for divine spellcasters that's not quite the same issue so long as your deity approves of you, since then they'll do that part for you, along with actually formulating the spell's instructions), you still need to be able to actually cast it, which requires mentally concentrating on the results to be achieved, moving the energy from within your thoughts out into the world, and utilizing the exacting and precise verbal and somatic triggers...all at the same time, and often under tense and adverse conditions.

That's really, really hard to do, and it only gets harder when you have more complex and energy-heavy spells. Becoming a powerful spellcaster is not an easy thing to achieve.

[James Fire]

This cave system is huge, and mostly empty.

[Alzrius]

8388647 Whew! After the last chapter, I was a tad worried.