A Choice To Be Made
Inside this estate there was light, light enough to remind those inside that it was in fact, still daytime, despite the inky black storm clouds that blotted out the sun. Inside the estate it was warm, warm enough to remind the inhabitants that it was not yet winter, even though the world outside tried to soothe-say them into thinking otherwise. The estate stood out against its surroundings in these ways, it contrasted against them by its nature. Yet, even with this contradiction the estate still managed to blend into its surroundings, like an infant wrapped in a blanket.
Sarai was one of the inhabitants of the estate. She had helped to design it with her lord husband after their marriage. He had been offered the family estate as inheritance, but he had chosen to leave that to his younger brother, choosing instead to make his own place in the world. Sarai had helped him carve out his own niche in the world, a place they could call their home. She had insisted on the location after discovering that two major lay-lines intersected there. For a magus such as herself this would lend itself to a wonderful boon in power, for her lord husband it meant little as he was not gifted with magic of his own. However, he did see the potential in the land, and once he saw the area for himself, fell in love with the way the forests the fields, and the mountains all came together in a perfect harmony. He had never been much of a naturalist, preferring the familiarity of offices and studies, but there was something indeed mystical about this location that made even him want to spend hours outdoors among the trees and plants.
They had tried to disturb the land as little as possible, Sarai fearing it might damage the lay-lines in some way, and her lord husband had found that he did not want to destroy such beautiful scenery. By the time the estate was constructed they had managed to find the ideal balance that they both had wanted. Edmund had gotten the large estate he had always wanted, and Sarai had gotten to help design it so that it disturbed the land as little as possible.
It was in one of the estates most important room-Sarai's altar, that she now found herself. Sarai paced, wondering if she was doing the right thing. The child growing inside her was strong, stronger than she had ever anticipated he would be. Being the seventh son of a seventh son was one thing, but Sarai felt there was more to it. Often she could feel the lay-lines tugging at her-tugging at the child that was inside her. Sarai wondered if their latent magic had found some way to touch the unborn child, adding to his already powerful nature. When most children would just kick in the womb, this one was already singing to the void and the planes beyond. It seemed impossible, an unborn child with no voice singing to the spirits on the faraway horizons? It couldn't have been...and yet, as sure as she drew breath she had felt that connection to the void that only a summoner could truly call.
Opening the void was a dangerous thing, even for Sarai with her years of experience and training calling from the faraway planes and the lands beyond the void was tricky. It was like ripping a hole into a wall and calling a doorway, anything could come through. But, with proper training, she had learned to control what she called into existence on the dominant plane.
The child within her however, did not have that training. And that worried her. The hole had been small from what she could tell, nothing powerful could have come through, but the potential was what worried her most. And so, she paced around the altar while the rain outside soaked the world beyond the estate. It should not have been any hard decision. She knew who she had to call, but yet, she could not bring herself to do it. It had been years since she had done a proper calling. Her skills were no doubt rusty, and to perform a calling of the magnitude she needed...rusty skills would not do.