Chapter 6: Biding
Ravena's personal library wasn't as grand as other magi; but, it held everything she needed made to her exacting standards. When G'lado enters with the metal dolly, Ravena directs him to dump the box onto the center of the carpet. Once G'lado is clear, Ravena activates ward upon ward, layering anti-aetheric barriers around the box. The box, containing the books Deryk delivered, floats off the ground until it is central between the floor and the ceiling. Faint magic circles on the ground and ceiling glow with power as they create a vacuum within the space where the books rest.
Ravena looks over her work carefully. She makes sure every syllable is uttered perfectly; that every diagram is drawn without defect. Once she's certain no wisps of aether can penetrate her barrier, she sends a message via linkpearl to Q informing him of the books' securement. She then informs G'lado that nobody is to use her room for any reason without her being physically present. Ravena is **certain** someone is going to try and take that box before too long.
Ravena then begins searching her library for ways to research aether-vamping objects without feeding them. Ravena suspects she'll be making another trip to Between the Lines soon...
Ravena’s wards fully stabilize, and the books fall into an unnatural stillness—not inert, but **dormant**. Moisture halts mid-bead, and the ambient pressure fades as her vacuum severs them from external aether. Her diagnostics reveal the truth: the books are not feeding yet, but designed to **wait**, preserving their abyssal charge. Hidden within their bindings are **pressure-impressed sigils**—interfaces, not spells. The books are not the source; they are **keys**. Her wards log a single failed intrusion attempt before it withdraws. Containment holds, but her research confirms a grim fact: starving such objects does not destroy them—it merely delays retrieval.