Just as he completed the small shield the rain began falling heavily. He planned to create a larger shield, but satisfied himself with a smaller one first to keep them dry. He continued concentrating, feeding more djed as he expanded the bubble of the shield. Of course, the ground elsewhere already turned into mud, so the next best thing he could do was to align the shield with the ground so that a fine layer was still dry. Regulating his breathing, the ethaefal continued pushing out the shield until it encompassed most of the small grove, essentially creating a larger dry zone. This was for better combat utility in the event of another predator.
Next, he created more djed, pushing it forward towards the entrance of the grove, forming a thin layer that acted as a door of sorts at the only entrance point to enter the grove. Above that shield he created a sheet of djed parallel to the sky but with a bowl in the middle. For the door, he weaved two instructions. Primarily, to absorb djed, while secondarily he utilized a biological tasking template, placing a blanket ban on all biologicals from passing the door. The shield that was parallel to the sky he programmed to absorb djed and task against water, or rain. Water would normally bounce off the shield as a result of this tasking, but due to the concave shape he moulded in the middle of the upper sheet the rain would collect there.
Finally, he weaved the very djed threads of the shield, forming them into glyphs that would serve as further arcane instructions. He placed a trigger sigil on both additional shields, with a line of glyphs linking the door and sheet together. Basically, if the door shield was broken, the shield with the convex shape would also be shattered, thus causing the bowl of collected water to splash down noisily. That would serve as their only warning to new predators, or more specifically predators with the power and intelligence to understand and break the shield. The darkness should hide them from sight for the most part, while the heavy rain would effectively mask their scents, especially the scent of blood.
A hand touched him just as he completed the additional shields, and Eridanus found himself looking into a pair of worried eyes. The celestial visage of the ethaefal expressed a warm and graceful smile as he reassured her, "Just don't move, and stay there. Everything will be fine."
As he spoke to the conscious survivor, he extracted more djed, though this time a little, only sufficient enough to form a thin blanket over the woman's clothes. The primary tasking was the usual to absorb djed, thus guaranteeing somewhat its longevity. The second was to task against temperature. Using the djed threads of the second instruction, he added more glyphs to specify his expected effect. Basically, the shield would trap heat, but only up to constant degree which he defined to be the average temperature of spring.
Reaching over, he quickly did the same for the man, while checking his breathing and pulse. "He's still alright, miss. Don't exert yourself, rest as much as you can and leave the rest to me okay?"
Finally, he did the same for himself, for by now he was already shivering from the cold. Extracting djed, shaping it to form a thin cloth-like layer around his body, and programming it against cold. It was fortunate that he had sufficient proficiencycompetent allows shields spanning up to 5 acres in shielding to be able to create numerous and large shields or all of this would not be possible.
Now that preparations were done, the environment posed little danger to the trio. Unless a new danger entered, all they could do now was to wait out the rain and night. Perhaps the rescue party had postponed their operation till the day, which he admitted would probably be a smarter choice.
Yet, he could not afford to sleep. Instead, he sat up cross-legged, entering a meditative phase that would conserve energy but yet keep him vaguely aware of the surroundings. He only needed to be aware enough to snap into action if there was a large splashing sound as a result of the bowl of water on the sheet of djed being released onto the ground should the door shield be breached.
Priskil, grant hope to the survivors. Yahal, give them the strength to keep living. Wysar, help them with their conviction to stay alive.
With these prayers he kept his strength and faith, resolute in his task to keep his mind and body alert yet well-conserved, ready to meet any new challenges that might be thrown their way.
The night progressed.
Next, he created more djed, pushing it forward towards the entrance of the grove, forming a thin layer that acted as a door of sorts at the only entrance point to enter the grove. Above that shield he created a sheet of djed parallel to the sky but with a bowl in the middle. For the door, he weaved two instructions. Primarily, to absorb djed, while secondarily he utilized a biological tasking template, placing a blanket ban on all biologicals from passing the door. The shield that was parallel to the sky he programmed to absorb djed and task against water, or rain. Water would normally bounce off the shield as a result of this tasking, but due to the concave shape he moulded in the middle of the upper sheet the rain would collect there.
Finally, he weaved the very djed threads of the shield, forming them into glyphs that would serve as further arcane instructions. He placed a trigger sigil on both additional shields, with a line of glyphs linking the door and sheet together. Basically, if the door shield was broken, the shield with the convex shape would also be shattered, thus causing the bowl of collected water to splash down noisily. That would serve as their only warning to new predators, or more specifically predators with the power and intelligence to understand and break the shield. The darkness should hide them from sight for the most part, while the heavy rain would effectively mask their scents, especially the scent of blood.
A hand touched him just as he completed the additional shields, and Eridanus found himself looking into a pair of worried eyes. The celestial visage of the ethaefal expressed a warm and graceful smile as he reassured her, "Just don't move, and stay there. Everything will be fine."
As he spoke to the conscious survivor, he extracted more djed, though this time a little, only sufficient enough to form a thin blanket over the woman's clothes. The primary tasking was the usual to absorb djed, thus guaranteeing somewhat its longevity. The second was to task against temperature. Using the djed threads of the second instruction, he added more glyphs to specify his expected effect. Basically, the shield would trap heat, but only up to constant degree which he defined to be the average temperature of spring.
Reaching over, he quickly did the same for the man, while checking his breathing and pulse. "He's still alright, miss. Don't exert yourself, rest as much as you can and leave the rest to me okay?"
Finally, he did the same for himself, for by now he was already shivering from the cold. Extracting djed, shaping it to form a thin cloth-like layer around his body, and programming it against cold. It was fortunate that he had sufficient proficiencycompetent allows shields spanning up to 5 acres in shielding to be able to create numerous and large shields or all of this would not be possible.
Now that preparations were done, the environment posed little danger to the trio. Unless a new danger entered, all they could do now was to wait out the rain and night. Perhaps the rescue party had postponed their operation till the day, which he admitted would probably be a smarter choice.
Yet, he could not afford to sleep. Instead, he sat up cross-legged, entering a meditative phase that would conserve energy but yet keep him vaguely aware of the surroundings. He only needed to be aware enough to snap into action if there was a large splashing sound as a result of the bowl of water on the sheet of djed being released onto the ground should the door shield be breached.
Priskil, grant hope to the survivors. Yahal, give them the strength to keep living. Wysar, help them with their conviction to stay alive.
With these prayers he kept his strength and faith, resolute in his task to keep his mind and body alert yet well-conserved, ready to meet any new challenges that might be thrown their way.
The night progressed.
