The Raven laughed once again, running her finger along the blade of the scythe. "You gave in to your dark side," she said, looking at him. "I'm so proud." She glanced at Julianna, then back at Excalith. "There's still much you need to learn, though. For one, never touch the blood of a woman skilled in primal magic."
Without warning, she sliced open his wrist with her claw-like nails and drew blood. Then, disappeared in a cloud of smoke, only the echo of her cackle remaining.
In one of her numerous huts, she cared for her wounds, then dug out a magical orb. It was similar to a crystal ball, but used more for speaking to someone. She took his dried blood from beneath her nail and mixed it with a potion, then dropped the orb into the mixture. Alexandria took the orb out and it held a faint red glow, showing Excalith's image. "Mother is so proud of you," she whispered into it, knowing Excalith could hear her voice as though she were next to him without any way to track where it was coming from.
Meanwhile, on the path, Julianna held the other half of the moonstone with a shaky grasp. "I've waited to have the complete moonstone for so long," she said, running her thumb over the second half. She quickly wiped a tear away before it got a chance to fall and laughed breathily. "I almost don't even know what to do. We should make camp. I have to do a fusing spell, which will take a little over an hour."
She settled in a nearby field, while Pitch perched on a low branch. She felt incredibly uneasy around Excalith. There was a darkness that she couldn't recognize, but more importantly it was a darkness that she wasn't sure she could trust.
Sitting on a log and placing her staff next to her, she took off the other half of the moonstone and removed both from their frames. Julianna placed the flat sides of the stone together and closed her eyes. "Simul," she whispered. "Simul in perpetuum." She repeated that twelve more times and placed the moonstone back in her amulet around her neck. The spell wasn't completed yet, but the time remaining was simply waiting for the moonstone to heal itself.
"Thank you," she said, her hand reaching around her to find Excalith.