The Obsidian Palace
Serpentia was now whole. Ardyn and Varric took a deep breath as one. Varric's spell weave changed. The six spells intensified and became more complex. They reached out over Serpentia and then into Planar and Serenia. His spells wove through the layers and slowly began to connect them.
Ardyn breathed runes into existence as her hands moved in intricate patterns. The top stone of her vine wizard staff lit up, calling and connecting to Noir, then the center stone pulsed and called to Bratinus. Her connections with these two cornerstones grew vibrant and intense.
As the four cornerstones became tied to Serpentia, the skies over the two mountain ranges rippled with energy and began to part. The bright blue skies were now black as night over the mountain ranges of Serpentia, and something powerful, protective, and calming began to descend.
Not one being of Serpentia had an ounce of fear when they looked up into the sky and saw a black darker than night. There were no stars in this darkness—only peace and protection. As the residents of Serpentia looked up at the sky, they knew they were going to be safe. They became excited, but it was their bodies that told the true story. They became stronger; their skin was flawless, and their vitality was renewed. Each resident gained longevity: humans gained 50 years, beastkin gained 100 years, and plants gained hundreds of years.
Varric's spell weave began to change. It slowly became a part of Serpentia, Planar, and Serenia, as a fundamental, intrinsic connection formed between the three.
Following suit, Ardyn created the same connection between Serpentia, Noir, and Bratinus with runic magic. Her runes spread through the three realms and anchored them, tying them together just as intrinsically as Varric's magic had done for Planar and Serenia.
Ardyn then pulled on her connections to Planar and Serenia. Her runes spread out to them and drew them in. Varric's spell weave kept them connected to Serpentia as Ardyn renewed the cornerstones' connections to each other. Bratinus, Serenia, Planar, and Noir slowly and gently pulled nearer and nearer.
As the cornerstones came closer together and their bond with Serpentia became more stable, the black mass in the sky lowered more and more. Soon it was evident that it was a palace of the blackest obsidian, lilac pulses of energy tracing its edges as it descended. The castle was immense, as it spanned the entire length of both Serpentian mountain ranges. Its power was even more overwhelming as its influence was felt throughout Serpentia. It was a comforting, protective magic to residents, but a foreboding killing intent to the enemies of Serpentia who stood at her borders, trying to gauge the changes the realm was undergoing.
Ardyn drew in the four cornerstones of Sidus Serpens, and all four began to settle. Planar settled in the northwest—not far from Silver Vale. Serenia took the northeast position near Porter Sky. Bratinus maintained its actual territory at Serpentia's southeast corner, and Noir took the northeast corner of Serpentia, casting Harvest Glen between Bratinus and Noir.
Ardyn drew in the runes and Varric's spell weave. She continued to speak words of power as if she had just begun the ritual. All three of the crystals in her staff reacted, and the connections drew down and then came up through the caves of Serpentia and up to the descending obsidian castle. The connections drew together ever tighter and then locked.
As they locked, Serpentia settled again. Beings unique to the cornerstones walked out of their realms and into Serpentia; as they did, they changed and became unique magical blends of their realms and Serpentia. These were the new autonomous protectors of Serpentia. They each stood quietly in their quadrants, as if waiting for orders: huge sentient trees of Bratinus, the stone guards of Serenia, chaotic warriors from Planar, and the silhouette beings of Noir. They all stood placidly, waiting for direction.
The runic and spell-weave connections rose through the obsidian castle, and the realms felt the connections with Sidus Serpens begin to form. Both Varric and Ardyn strained as the tenuous connection tested their strength to maintain the bond and their right to even form it.
Varric strained as his weave pulled violently against him. His back straightened and his concentration redoubled. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as Sidus Serpens pulled the connection. Ardyn struggled with her runes, focusing her intent on connection, calm, and solidification. Her voice deepened with magic, and the many who had been listening to the melodious incantation before had to cover their ears and fall back as their heads buzzed and blood seeped from their ears, eyes, and noses. It was like listening to a deity give angry orders to subordinates.
She stepped into the gap between Varric and Sidus Serpens and dragged the four cornerstones with her. Varric seemed to step into Ardyn's soul, her soul hibiscus blooming wide, and he stood taller. Lilac light shimmered along his scales as his spell weave became stronger and pulled tight in his grasp.
The obsidian palace lowered quickly, as if it were about to drop onto Serpentia, and now half of the structure could be seen.
The first day of the ritual ended with the castle half revealed, new guardians in Serpentia, and a tenuous connection to Sidus Serpens formed. Ardyn and Varric breathed in harmony as they readied themselves and dove deeper into the ritual.