Chapter 12The Ceremony of the Moons At the hospital Jonah and Alissa told Thak and Doctor Sliss of their decision regarding the PEBS when mention of it came up. The Ibians nodded in understanding and did as the couple desired without question. They removed the device on Jonah’s leg that they informed the couple was called a Physical Recovery and Infection Correction System, or PRICS for short, when Alissa thought to ask about its name as an afterthought. They had forgotten to tell the two humans the name of the device in the excitement that surrounded testing the PEBS on willing subjects that could properly communicate the effects of its usage first hand. Once the PRICS was removed successfully and it was confirmed that the leg was indeed properly healed with no apparent lingering issues, the Ibians thanked Alissa and Jonah for their assistance on the PEBS. The scaly pair let the couple know that if they ever needed any assistance in the future, the Ibian people would be more than happy to help.
The Ibians had much to consider based off of the information that the two humans had provided them with about the PEBS. They had several theories to reconsider as well as new ones that they had formuted. Knowing the exact effect that the PEBS had now opened the possibilities to more testing on humanoid subjects as well as giving the Ibians some new ideas as to how it could be utilized. All in all, The Ibians considered the experiment on the humans an investment that had paid back tenfold based off the knowledge gained.
Jonah and Alissa returned to the hotel and were greeted by Lilly who just looked at the two questioningly. Over the st twenty-five days the young couple had gradually started acting more and more like one another and by the fifteenth day Lilly would not have been able to tell a difference if she did not know the truth.
“Well?” Lilly asked expectantly.
“Jonah got the device off and his leg is completely healed.” Allisa replied quickly.
“And what about the other thing?” She asked quietly almost as if she were trying to prevent being heard.
“It has been handled and we are happy with the results, Mother.” Alissa said, smiling at Lilly. “Now we are just looking forward to the wedding. We both agree though, we both want to help finish the pnning for our wedding.”
Lilly smiled at her daughter and future son-in-w, happy for the two of them. She could only imagine how hard it had been for both of them while waiting for Jonah's leg to heal. Giving them both hugs, she informed them that she was about to head to the wedding pnner’s office and asked if they wanted to come along. Both Alissa and Jonah jumped eagerly at the opportunity, and followed after Lilly.
#
The morning of the day that the Ceremony of the Moons fell upon was full of hustle and bustle, not only on the part of the wedding party, but also on the part of all the Ibians who were busy setting up in the square for the ceremony. Rasheed had to break his booth down the day before so that the Ibians could get the square ready for the ceremony and since he could not work that day, he took Jonah out, throwing him a bachelor’s party where much alcohol was consumed. The two of them had gotten in early the next morning and promptly passed out in their respective rooms.
When waking up on the morning of the day of the wedding both Lilly and Alissa were disgusted to find that the men were still out cold from their partying the night before. The two women met in the lobby of the hotel and took a carriage to the square where they met up with Isis to oversee the decorations around the statue that was the focus of the Ceremony of the Moons. Satisfied that everything was going smoothly, they then traveled to pick up Alissa's wedding dress from the seamstress's office.
Upon gathering the dress, they headed back to the hotel, only to find the men still unconscious. Lilly woke Rasheed up, tossing him out of the room, instructing him to wake Jonah up and take Basheer somewhere out of the way so that she and Alissa could get prepared as well as make sure that Jonah was ready in time for the wedding that night.
The day wore on as Lilly fussed over her daughter, making sure that her makeup was perfectly applied before getting to work on her long curly hair. She used dozens of hairpins putting Alissa's hair into a gorgeous twist with a few locks of curls that fell effortlessly down, framing her face. Lilly then gave Alissa advise for her wedding night, more for traditions sake of passing the information down mother to daughter as it had been done for her by her mother. Seeing Alissa's blush, Lilly assured her that this was a talk that every mother should have with their daughter and was no less embarrassing when her mother had given it to her.
As the hour drew nearer Alissa began to get nervous about the wedding, wondering if everything was going to work out the way they had pnned. Lilly sensing her that her daughter was getting nervous smiled and tried to calm her down telling her everything was going the be fine. When that didn’t help to calm her, she told her daughter that she would go and double check on progress down at the square just to make sure everything was still on track.
When she arrived, she found that all of the decorating had been completed. Everything was ready for the ceremony and the wedding, the only thing that was missing were the people to fill the square. Lilly was about to go look for her husband and son who were not present, but was surprised instead to find Jonah examining the square intently. As she approached him, she could see that he was bleary eyed and looked like he’d had a rough day so far.
She smiled and greeting him cheerily. He tried to smile back but instead winced as if in pain. Lilly asked him if he was well and he told her that his head was pounding fiercely and had been ever since Rasheed had waked him. Laughing as he described a hangover to her, she led him away from the square to a little cafe and bought him a drink that was richly bitter in taste and bck in color. After he had drunk the entire drink, she asked him how he felt and he told her that the throbbing in his head was subsiding. She found out that the previous night was the first time he had ever touched any alcohol other than a gss of wine here and there. From the amounts he described that Rasheed had bought and made him drink during the party, she was surprised that Jonah had even made it back to the hotel before passing out. Deciding that she would have to have a talk to her husband about this, she pressed Jonah to find out what he had been doing in the square.
Jonah told her that he had wanted to make sure that everything was perfect for the wedding and was about to head back to his room to get himself cleaned up for the evening’s activities. Thanking her for the drink, he gave her a hug and wandered off toward the hotel. Lilly decided as Jonah left that it was time to get the bride dressed and help her work out the st of the butterflies in her stomach.
As she got back to the hotel, she found Alissa and Jonah in the hallway outside of the doors leading to the rooms. Jonah had Alissa pressed against the wall between the two doors and was kissing her passionately.
“Alissa!” Lilly said sharply and Jonah jumped at the sound of her voice. “What are you doing? You will smear you makeup!” Alissa and Jonah looked guilty. Jonah retreated to the couple’s room and Alissa followed Lilly back into her room.
#
Something was different, something had changed. The void around her swirled with unseen currents almost as if it were trying to sweep her away.
She looked to the horizon, hopeful that her lover would come soon. How she missed him. It seemed as if eternity had passed since he came st and with what the silver dy ‘Si’ had told her weeks before, she knew her time here was almost done.
Please God, she thought silently to herself as tears flowed down her cheek. Please, lead Cain to my arms once more. I cannot bear the thought of not seeing him one st time. Please, have mercy.
#
That night the moons were both full in the sky as the Ceremony of the Moons got underway. It seemed the whole city had turned out for the ceremony as Ibians packed themselves into the huge square. Around the statue there was a stage set up with stairs at the far end of the stage from the statue. A set of Ibians that set off to one side of the stage pyed queer looking instruments that emitted strange music reminiscent of two metal surfaces shrieking against each other, that was amplified by several strange bck boxes. At the far end of the stage there was a small awning, covered in colorful flowers and greenery which Jonah could not figure out where in the wastes the Ibians had gotten them from. Right behind the awning was the Moonstone set in the statue that the ceremony was all about. It sat there glistening in the moonlight, almost seeming to glow. The stage itself was decorated with wreaths and flowers and though it could not be seen at the moment, there was a long carpet of purple velvet upon the ground.
As the couple approached the throng of Ibians, Sis greeted them. He then took Jonah, who was wearing a nice suit that had been picked out and bought by Lilly, away from Alissa and led him up the steps to the awning. Once he was in pce, the Ibians began to shuffle forward into the stage. They greeted him and wished in well in his marriage one by one and before moving to the Moonstone and reaching out to as if to take the stone. As each one reached out the stone would grow dim then brighten back up as they pulled their hand away. They would then exit the stage by a set of cleverly hidden steps on the side of the stage and move on to an area that was set aside for dancing and drinking. As more Ibians tried for the stone and failed the area for dance filled. Before the night was halfway over all of the square was filled with dancing and ughter as the Ibians drank and danced and enjoyed life as a whole.
As the twin moons began to cross paths, everyone grew quiet, the music and the dancing stopped. The crowds parted where they stood on the velvet carpet creating a path before Alissa to the stage where Jonah awaited her. Rasheed and Lilly stepped up to her, one on either side, and the band started to py softly as a young female Ibian began to sing a haunting melody. The bride made her way slowly up the path, followed closely by her parents, to where her betrothed waited.
The Ibian sang a song of a young woman who found true love underneath the light of the twin moons. For months they met in secret because they both were to be wed in arranged marriages. Finally, she and her love arranged to meet by the light of the full twin moons to consummate their love before announcing their love for one another in hopes of having the arranged marriages called off. As her and her lover united for the first time, an arrow pierced his heart, killing him instantly. The one betrothed to her was the one who had shot her love in the back out of jealousy. Crying out in pain and sorrow she stumbled out into the wastes alone, crying for her love that was lost.
Far to the south after months of wandering through many nds she came across a huge wilting tree. As she approached the tree on the night that the twin moons were full and the eastern moon was set to be eclipsed by the western moon, she saw her love standing at the base of the tree. Crying she ran to him, thinking he was a figment of her imagination. He ran out to meet her, embracing her for the first time in months. Relived, she wept, taking comfort in his arms and uniting once more, but her relief was not to st. As the eclipse began her lover faded and vanished with a promise to return by the light of the full moons.
Crying at all she had lost, she colpsed at the base of the tree and the western moon, who had witnessed the exchange, wept with sorrow at the pain that filled the woman’s heart. The tears of the moon fell upon the tree, making it flourish and grow while reviving the nd around its base. A single tear from the moon nded on the woman's belly as it fell toward the earth. The tear was absorbed into her skin, down into her womb. The woman slept that night underneath the now massive tree, taking shelter among the rge roots.
The next morning, she awoke to find that the tree had grown so much throughout the night that she now could not see the top of it because it stretched into the clouds. The nd surrounding the tree had flourished for as far as the woman could see. She even climbed high into the branches of the tree to get a better look only to see a lush green ndscape all around. Climbing back down she found a rge gnarl of roots that formed a natural shelter that she soon made her home in. Over the next few days her belly grew, becoming swollen and pregnant as she awaited the return of her lover.
When the full moons arose once again on the next night, her lover returned and once again they made love by light of the moons with him vanishing again as the moons set. From then on, every time that the full moons rose, the woman was reunited with him and when they set the two were separated. As time passed the woman gave birth to a daughter and the girl was born with a rge stone embedded in the same area that the tear had struck her mother in.
As the girl grew older and began to wander the nds around the tree, life flourished tenfold where ever she went in the already fertile nd. As the years passed, she would wander further and further, spreading life where ever she walked and eventually she found a vilge with a young man in it that she fell in love with. Upon returning to her mother that night, which was the night of the full moons, the girl found her mother with her father waiting outside. Telling them both about the love that she had found, her parents rejoiced and encouraged her to pursue it.
As she turned to leave to go back to the vilge where the man lived the moons eclipsed and both of her parents vanished. Panicking the girl ran back into the house and found her mother in her bed, having passed earlier that night. Returning to the vilge she reunited with her love and told him that she was leaving to wander the earth in honor of her mother’s time spent wandering. He decided that he could not live without her and joined her in her in her travels. The two of them wandered the earth together for many years spreading joy and life where ever they traveled.
The female Ibian's song came to a close as Alissa reached Jonah's side as the night around them grew dark from the eclipse that was beginning to take pce. Jonah turned to Alissa, lifted the thin veil that covered her face, and looked into her eyes. He smiled happily at his gorgeous bride as she faced him. She smiled happily back at him and mouthed a quick “I love you” to him as she took his right hand with her left. Rasheed and Lilly stepped up to either side of the two lovers and bound their hands together with a white silk scarf. Then Lilly had her left hand bound to Alissa's right hand with a bck scarf as Rasheed had the same done to him with Jonah’s free hand.
A small white Ibian who was wearing a long set of white robes that seemed to glow in the moonlight stepped between the couple and the stone. As he spoke his voice was amplified, echoing over the masses gathered in the square. He told the story of the lovers from the song that had been sung earlier and reminded Jonah and Alissa that not even death could conquer true love when it was meant to be. He told them that the bonds of marriage were not to be taken lightly for they would forever be bound one to another as their two souls became as one before the eyes of God. Upon asking if they understood the covenant that they were about to enter into with one another, both Alissa and Jonah nodded.
He asked who would vouch for Jonah's dedication to his betrothed and Rasheed spoke up.
“I do.” He began looking the Ibian in the eye. “His father could not be here today, but I have known this young man for some time now and I have seen his dedication firsthand. He loves her like no other and would gdly give his life for her if necessary. I am honored to stand in for his father and give him to my daughter Alissa.”
Rasheed was handed a knife which he then used to cut the scarf symbolizing being freed from the parental bonds. The Ibian nodded and asked who would vouch for Alissa's dedication to her betrothed.
“I do.” Lilly procimed. “As her mother I have seen my daughter's dedication to Jonah on a daily basis. When he was injured protecting her during an attack, she refused to leave his side tending to him and doing whatever she could to spare him from the suffering of his wound. She sacrificed much to spare him the pain he would have been in and I am honored to give my daughter to this man, Jonah.”
The scarf was cut by Lilly that was binding her and Alissa together, symbolizing her freedom from parental bonds. The little Ibian then turned to Jonah and informed him that he could state his vows if he so desired. Jonah nodded and turned to face Alissa, taking her free hand into his.
“Alissa,” He began nervously, his voice cracking slightly. “My love, I promise to stand by your side in all things, to be the rock that will support you, to always cherish you for all time. We share a bond that no one can truly understand and we have perfect understanding of one another because of that bond. You know when I say to you that I am completely yours I mean it. I am completely yours my love, there is and never will be any other.”
The Ibian nodded to Alissa as the night grew darker from the eclipsing moons.
“Jonah,” she said, eyes tearing up from the emotion that was swirling in her chest, trying to break free. “I have loved you ever since the day that I first saw you in the marketpce in New Cardeth. When your eyes first locked onto mine that day it there was magic in the air and I knew then I had to make myself worthy of you. We spent the years teasing each other, flirting back and forth but underneath, I knew that you felt the same way about me as I did about you. It was not until recently though, that we were able to drop the childish games we had been pying with one another and truly express our feelings. Jonah, I love you. I will always love you. I will be there for you no matter what life throws our way. I want to thank you for the sacrifices you have made for me and all the experiences you have shared with me. I hope that as our lives continue together, they remain as exciting and fulfilling as they have been so far. Jonah, I give myself completely, heart and soul to you, my love. I will always and forever be yours.”
The young couple turned back to the Ibian as the night grew darker than Jonah thought possible though, the stone in the statue still shone, lighting the stage. The little Ibian rested a hand upon the couple’s hands that were still bound and began to speak.
“Tradition demands, given a chance for the Moonstone, all are. Even are given that chance, outsiders are, in order to find the one who can cim the stone. Through tonight's events, forever more, you are citizens. Cim of the stone, you must make, finalizing your unity, showing togetherness, as, underneath the shadow of the western moon, reach for the stone, you both do.”
Alissa and Jonah nodded at the little Ibian as he stepped out of the way and they stepped forward to the stone. They reached their bound hands toward the stone as it glowed brightly. The closer their hands got to the stone the brighter it glowed, lighting the entire square that was filled with silence so thick it could be cut. The couple’s fingertips gently brushed against the stone and there was a loud crack that resonated throughout the square.
The stone shattered, plunging the square into darkness and a collective gasp of dismay went through the crowd. A single ray of moonlight appeared beaming down from the sky upon the now floating fragments of the stone, causing them to glitter brightly. They hung in the air rotating slowly, surrounding Jonah and Alissa as they stood frozen, not sure what to do. A pulse of light started to emanate from the fragments and with each pulse they drew in, condensing the cloud of splinters and fragments. They pulsed brighter and brighter shrinking down till the cloud only surrounded the two hands that had touched the stone. The cloud gave one final blindingly brilliant pulse of light. Then all light vanished in the square, once again plunging it into complete darkness.
