[centre][h2]Morgana Faith[/h2][/centre]

There was no words, no verbal indication that the Roggenwolf had accepted the contract she put before it, but the moment it did was unmistakeable. The connection of mana that the witch had been maintaining between them suddenly pulled tight; no, that wasn’t quite right, it [i]tightened[/i]. Like a loosely woven thread had instantly been twisted into a strong cord and the bond between them came into being all at once.

It was a strange feeling. A kind of awareness of your own body that was not of your own body but someone else’s; a sense that was both distant and not at the same time. How strange.

The experience was a novelty, but whatever the case Morgana could now feel the Roggenwolf’s presence through the connection. A connection that she could tell would not be easily broken without them both experiencing some backlash; there was a weight to, a severity, that spoke to the importance of the contract they had both entered into, despite how insignificant it was intended to be.

Why? Who or what was the arbiter of these contracts? The gods? Morgana had no sworn faith, which should have made such things weaker for her, but all studies has shown that binding contracts were equally effective regardless of the spiritual beliefs or even divine nature of the participants involved. The spirits themselves? To an extent. It was well known that entering into an agreement with a spirit, full-bloodied Fae or other supernatural was more dangerous than entering one with a more mundane partner, but those rules seemed separate to the contact itself and spirits needed to be equally careful not to fall foul of them. Then, was it simply the nature of swearing oaths itself? A collective belief among all beings that words [i]mattered[/i], promises [i]mattered[/i], and to break them was to be deserving of punishment?

Belief could shape magic. Belief could make a cheaply made staff of modern materials perform almost as well as an old, weathered staff of lightning-struck oak if the user believed the former to be the latter. The shattering of the moon had broken many older traditions of lunar magic not because the moon was a source of power, as nothing had ever proven that to be true, but because the practitioners believed their magic should no longer work. These were known phenomena, but for collective belief to [i]create[/i] an effect from scratch? To make binding a contract sworn between two individuals just because Morgana had spoken with intent and add a little mana to the mix?

It was old magic, [i]ancient[/i] magic, and frustratingly, something neither she nor any other researcher had managed to be able to explain.

[color=c4df9b]“Alright, let’s get this over with.”[/color] Letting out a sigh, Morgana raised a finger to her chin and tried to think of something suitably inconsequential she could ask the spirit to perform in order to fulfil their contract. [color=c4df9b]“…sit.”[/color]

The oversized, canine-shaped spirit seemed to hesitate for a moment and Morgana could have sworn she saw bewilderment flash across its decidedly inhuman face before it bent its hind legs and sat on the ground.

[color=c4df9b]“Stand.”[/color]

The Roggenwolf stood.

[color=c4df9b]“Turn around.”[/color]

The circle restricted their movement somewhat, but there was enough space for the spirit to walk in a small circle within the enclosure.

[color=c4df9b]“That should be enough. The terms of the contract have been fulfilled; [i]I release you.[/i]”[/color] As suddenly as it has appeared, the cord connecting Morgana to the spirit was gone, leaving no more of a trace behind than the Roggenwolf itself, which had also vanished.

Raising a hand, Morgana formed a ring with her index finger and her thumb and peered through the completed circle to examine the magical energies within her seal. A cursory examination showed no signs of the spirits presence, only that of the seal itself. She let he hand fall to her side, then raised her other hand and snapped her fingers; the subtle glow of the seal dimmed and disappeared, leaving behind only lines on the concrete like chalk. Even that was already starting to fade.

Turning around, Morgana regarded the Madeleine and Xaviron with impatience. [color=c4df9b]“Well, I think all of our business here is done. What was it we were doing before this distraction?”[/color]

[@Martian][@Kumbaris]