FIC: REPOST: Militat omnis amans (Every lover is a warrior) Part 6d/?

["Beckett, Kevin" <kevin.beckett@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Militat omnis amans (Every lover is a warrior) Part 6d/?
K. Beckett (c) 2000 

Disclaimers:
Buffy, Willow and all of the other characters and places from the show
belong to Joss Whedon, WB and Mutant Enemy etal. Everyone and everything
else is mine. None of my characters are meant to resemble anyone living,
dead or un-dead, if you see yourself you are looking way too hard.

This story contains sexual acts between consenting adult women, and was
written in a jurisdiction where it was legal to do so. If this offends you,
don't read.

Rating: 
PG-13ish, not much sticky stuff this time folks, but lots of ritual action.

Other: 
The Latin and Gaelic are mine; I take the responsibility for any
translations of them. In addition, the descriptions of the rituals, spells
and other craft work come from my traditions, so please don't take offence
if something described here does not match your traditions or what you think
it should.

Archiving etc.: 
Ask and I will say yes.

Spoilers and other ramblings:
Everything up to the middle of season four - I diverge then.

Please note that things perceived by characters other than by the five
acknowledge senses have been enclosed in < >, in addition, the ritual I have
detailed in this chapter has been done in English, rather than the Gaelic
that would be usually used for the spoken parts.

mailto:kevin.beckett@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Willow kissed Buffy's feet and said, "Blessed be, these feet, for they will
walk the path of the Goddess. Do you willingly take up this path?"

"I do," replied Buffy.

Willow then kissed Buffy's knees saying, "Blessed be, these knees, for they
will bend in supplication to the Goddess. Do you willingly take up this
path?"

"I do."

Kissing Buffy's stomach, just at the navel, she said, "Blessed be, this
womb, for it will bring forth life as the Goddess wills. Do you willingly
take up this path?"

"I do."

Willow stood up and kissed the hollow above Buffy's breasts saying, "Blessed
be, this heart, for it will beat in service to the Goddess. Do you
willingly take up this path?"

"I do."

Willow removed Buffy's blindfold, and kissed her between the eyes saying,
"Blessed be, these eyes, for they will see in the light of the Goddess. Do
you willingly take up this path?"

"I do."

Finally, Willow kissed Buffy on the forehead saying, "Blessed be, this mind,
for it will seek knowledge in the name of the Goddess. Do you willingly
take up this path?"

Buffy replied for a seventh time, "I do."

"Then know this," continued Willow, "you have sworn seven times that you
will willingly taking up this path. If you fail to do as you have sworn,
you will be cursed for all time, and you will never know the joy of re-birth
or the never-ending love of the Goddess. I ask you one last time, do you
willingly take up this path?"

"I do."

Willow went over to the alter and returned with her ritual knife, she stood
in front of Buffy and as she cut the rope that bound her hands said, "You
have accepted to act and work with the Goddess always first in your mind. I
therefore release you from your bounds and welcome you into our fellowship."

While she was saying this, Aiofe went over and re-sealed the circle, after
inviting Daithi into it. After the circle was re-sealed Willow said to
everyone, "Blessed be, I ask you all to now welcome our sister on the path,
show her that her love is returned and shared by all."

Everyone else now took the opportunity to come up to Buffy, each
congratulating her and giving her a hug and a kiss. When they had all
finished, they returned to their places as Willow began the next part of the
initiation ritual.

"Initiate, you who are called Elizabeth, are you ready to proceed into the
mysteries of our path?"
"I am."
"Then," she said handing Buffy a new robe, "re-clothe yourself and prepare
to take your vow."

Buffy dressed in her new plain white robe and wrapped the silk cord once
around her body. Turning to the East she said her vows, "Blessed be,
Guardian of the Air, hear my vow, and grant my request. I swear that I will
always follow the path, use my gifts for the good of humanity and never bow
to the temptations of evil. You are the source of my power, you are the
giver of life sustaining air. Grant me the wisdom to use my skills wisely.
Grant me the understanding to find my way on the path. Grant me the
strength to fight the enemies of humanity."

As Buffy finished her vow, the column of yellow light that was standing in
the East solidified and created an extension that reached out from it, going
through the shield, to touch Buffy on the head. Buffy would have collapsed
to the floor if it hadn't been for Willow and Aiofe reaching out to support
her. As they held her up, everyone noticed that Buffy's hair had turned
white where the Guardian had touched it.

"You ok," Willow asked her lover softly.
"Yeah," Buffy replied shaking her head gently, as if to clear out the
cobwebs, "that was... intense."
"Are you able to continue," he soul-mate asked, "we can take a break if you
need it."
"No, its ok. Let's go on."

"All right then, on to the home stretch." Returning to the alter she sat
down on the floor, indicating to Aiofe and Buffy that they should sit on
either side of her. The others gathered in front of the alter and sat down
waiting expectantly, since none of them had ever been involved in the
initiation of a warrior-mage. 

Willow paused for a moment to collect her thoughts then began her discourse
with "Blessed be."
"Blessed be," replied the others.
"We are gathered in this place and time as participants in the making of a
warrior-mage, this is a difficult and perhaps dangerous undertaking. We
must ask the Guardians to bind Buffy's power to her slaying abilities, and
to give her the knowledge and strength to use them. Do you have any
questions?"
"Yes Willow," asked Grael, "why didn't you talk about this before?"
"Good question Grael," Willow replied, "primarily because I didn't really
think about it till tonight, and second, I wasn't certain if I would be
leading tonight, nor what your response would be."
"We would have given it some thought," answered Amana, "but we would have
agreed. In fact, we would have suggested it ourselves, if we had thought
about it."
"Alright, I apologize for not telling you sooner," Willow said to the group,
"I am a bit worried about what has been happening tonight, but lets hope
that everything turns out ok."

"Now," she continued, "we come to the next part of the ritual, we are going
to start by having Buffy lie before the alter, on an East-West axis. Then
we will perform a binding ritual with the sword. Grael, I'm going to ask
you to sacrifice your sword, ok?"
"Fine with me, what is going to happen to it?"
"If everything works, it will essentially become part of Buffy's essence."
"What!!," asked a surprised slayer.
"It's just that you will be able to draw on its strength, and by extension
the strength of the Guardians when you face the demon hordes."
"Ok, then," Buffy replied, "just as long as I don't become some sort of
'bionic slayer'."
"No," Willow replied, "we had enough of that with Ted."
"Ted?" Amana wordlessly asked Grael, who replied with a shake of his head
and a hunching of his shoulders.

"Now, Buffy, lie on the floor," Willow asked softly, "everyone else back to
your places."

Once everyone was ready Willow took the sword and set it on top of Buffy
with the pommel resting between her breasts and the blade pointing towards
her sex.

<This going to take long love, this floor is COLD!>
<No sweetie, about ten minutes, if everything goes ok.>

Willow centred herself, and the circle, and once again drew up the power
from the others. When she felt ready she began the spell that would give to
Buffy the powers of a warrior mage.

"Mighty Goddess in your role as the warrior maiden," Willow began, "I ask
you and your Guardians to grant me my petition. It is only due to our great
need that we seek to have this initiate transformed into the role of a
warrior mage," as Willow began her spell the four pillars of light flared,
then solidified, "give to her the ability to combine her great strengths and
abilities to be a force for good, and to aid our civilization in its
struggles against the demons who plague us." Willow turned to Buffy and
began the litany:

"Initiate, do you promise to always use your strength in the service of the
Goddess and her Guardians?"
"I do."

"Do you promise to uphold the rights of all against tyranny and oppression?"
"I do."

"Do you promise to think only of others, and not yourself when exercising
your powers?"
"I do."

"Do you promise to do all that you can to eradicate the enemies of
humanity?"
"I do."

As Willow was reciting the litany the Guardians began pulsating, and it
appeared that the elements themselves were rising up against the inn. The
occupants of the circle could feel the wind shake the building, the rain
pounding against the windows, the earth tremble and the fireplaces flared up
with the flames dancing to music only they could hear.

"Do you promise to only tell the truth," Willow pressed on, trying to ignore
what was happening outside of the circle, "when asked about the Goddess and
her servants?"
"I do."

"Do you promise to teach others on their journey on the path, if you are
called to do so?"
"I do."