There she stood - Bori the she-wolf. Proud, noble and powerful at the summit of the Nebesvod mountain peak. Clad in shirts, vests and cloaks that do little to protect against the biting winds, piercing her through her fur and skin, chilling her to the bone.
Beside her stood Kat, her assistant and manager. A shorter and smaller tabaxi, clinging tightly to her numerous cloaks, trying hard and failing to keep warm, as the cold froze the tips of her exposed whiskers and patches of her orange fur.
They ventured forth. Not far ahead was their destination - a small temple said to be built on node, intermeshing the flow of quittance with their world and many others.
Bori banged on the oaken doors, which, like the entire building, seemed unaffected by the weather conditions. They open gently and a wave of heat hit the pair, like mana from Heaven.
The women rushed in, desperate for the warmth so greedily withheld from them up to now.
``Welcome travelers''.
There was a man - a monk. Old, greybearded and hunched over. He stepped slowly, assisted by a walking stick, a small bell hanging from the crooked tip and dozens of runes carved down the shaft.
Kat was the first to speak.
``Greetings. I hope you've received news of our arrival. We've been traveling for far too long''.
``Oh, yes'' the old man answered, eyes half closed and smiling. ``I'm guessing you are Kat Redfur. And that there should be Bori Clawhammer. We've been expecting you and we've set up the procedures as per your request.''
Kat and the monk talked about procedures, forms to be filled and fees to be paid. Bori ignored them. Sensation started returning to her body and the change of climate hit her like a run-away bull. It didn't take long before she started perspiring and she began to disrobe. Cloaks and coats and jackets laid by her feet until she could start breathing again normally. Dressed now in a sleeveless blue shirt, her white fur glistened with sweat and clung to her muscular body. Her hair was mess, with some patches braided and others not. She was a warrior, though some might disagree. A professional fighter and wrestler, although skilled in many martial arts, she was at the end of the day an entertainer.
Bori breathed in deeply, her chest expanding with warm thick air. Her muscles began to relax from the long trek and she could and the frost of her fur melted away into a puddle. She was herself again after her travel.
The temple was much larger on the inside. There was no sign of the oak walls that encased it on the outside. Here the walls were at least six meters tall and made of marble, with golden vines decorating columns. The halls stretched on for a while and red carpets adorned the floors.
The smell of frankincense began creeping up in her nose, playfully nibling her sense of smell, like tiny spark of electricity.
``Bori!''
The tabaxi had sneaked up next to the fighter unnoticed.
``What?'' the wolf was startled.
``I said we are done. Everything has been taken care of. We can start the procedures.''
Bori seemed uneasy.
``I'm still not sure if it was worth coming up here just for a few spa procedures. I still don't know how you convinced me. We've been traveling for a week just to relax in a sauna. I don't even like spas.''
``And yet you are here.''
Bori shrugged. ``You have a tongue of silver.''
``And a heart of gold. This place is very expensive so I trust you will appreciate the financial investment.''
``Alright, fine, but how is this an investment? I have a tournament next month. I should be training, not...lounging about...''
``Am I not your manager?'' Kat spoke, her voice confident and sly. ``Have you ever misdirected your trust in anyway?''
``No. Not yet.''
``And I promise I won't. Now listen. This place is special.''
``Yes, yes'' Bori interrupted. ``A node, a conflux of energies. I don't see how that will make a spa any different.''
``Well...'' Kat spoke as she produced two cups and a bottle of water. The water seemed off, not right. ``Being a node, this place is filled with majjixk. Now, I don't really know much about sorcery, wizardry and all that. But, as far as I understand, this place has a connection to the elemental realms. Do you know what those are? Those are the realms where an element has its purest expression. This water here'' she poured the water in the cups. ``Is the closest thing to the platonic ideal of water that you will ever find. This is The Water, with all that label entails.''
She offered the cup to the wolf, who took it with suspicion. She swirled it, looking into the liquid and her eyes started hurting a bit. This was water that should not be. But her mouth was dry and her tongue liked her muzzle involuntarily. Bori downed the cup.
The water splashed in her mouth, sliding over tooth and tongue, down her throat. The wolf felt every drop of it inside her body, crawling down her esophagus until finally nestling in her belly and assimilating into her body. It wasn't a bad feeling. In fact, she had never felt her thirst so parched before. It was calming, as if for the first time in her life she felt content.
``You liked it didn't you?''
Bori nodded sheepishly.
``The fun is about to begin.''
#
Bori stood alone in front of the pool, the air heavy with the scent of burning herbs - sage, cedar and some others she could not recognize. The aroma, although powerful, was soothing, like a warm blanket enveloping her body.
She stepped forward, the statues of creatures from myth and legend as if watching her naked body. As instructed, she took the foaming ball of soap and scrubbed it against her body. Arms, chest, abdomen, legs, feet. The sensation was that of being caressed by tentacles, slithering over her body, gently enveloping her folds. Although hesitant, unsure of the exact consistency of the soap, she slid it onto her inner thighs and nether region, both her buttocks and womanhood. She was surprised how pleasant it was, the foam slipping between her fur, like a river amidst a mountain forest. Warmth upon her skin. A relaxant for her aching muscles.
Now covered in a cloak of yellowish foam, she hesitantly dipped her toes into the water. A cool chill ran up her leg and she twitched. Cool, but not unbearable. She lowered her leg deeper until she touched the bottom of the pool. She repeated the process for her other leg. She was up to her pelvis in water and walked towards the deeper end of the pool, the chill slowly dissipating.
Although Bori was tall, the pool itself was not particularly deep, reaching up to her chest, the water stroking her sensitive nipples and sending shivers up her spine.
She began scrubbing off the foam.
The ritual of purification was the first part in her spa experience - cleansing the body and, with the body, cleansing the spirit. The water was pure, as pure as it could be coming once more from the elemental realms. Beyond clear, beyond refreshing.
It didn't take her long to scrub the soap off her body. It was as if the liquid simply pulled it away and dissolved it, leaving her once more in complete nudity.
Bori inhaled deeply, the herb scent stronger now. And with cycle, her body relaxed more. Soon she was barely able to stand up and simply let herself float on the water, floating. Between the mystic aromas and the gentle sway of the water, she could feel herself letting go, her physical form as if melting away and amalgamating with her surroundings. She closed her eyes and there was darkness - black blanket enveloping her mind leaving it to drift in the primordial.
There were thoughts forming and dispersing, distant echoes, forming and dispersing, filling the void of her mind before returning it to its primordial state.
It was refreshing. She could feel herself inside of herself, her being inside of her body. And her body felt vast, as if stretched into infinity and her core-self was somewhere.
And she opened her eyes. There was no way of knowing how long she was in the pool. It didn't matter, really. It was like she had never slept in her life and this was the first real nap she had. Refreshed, reenergized, reborn.
#
``That good, huh?'' Kat adjusted her robe.
``Yeah...was it the same for you?''
The tabaxi thought for a moment.
``It was...the pressure of the water itself...managed to penetrate into my body. And from the inside, it pushed out everything I never really needed. Like there was pressure building up in me, pushing away...negativity, stress, pain...the pressure expanding until these things simply reached the limit of my body and they got expelled through my skin. After that I felt weightless, floating like a parchment on the water. There was nothing in me anymore and I felt...'' she tried mimicking something with her hands. ``...free...''
Both of them stood in silence for a moment.
``SO! You ready for the next part?''
Bori nodded and both split ways, going through different doors.
A simple massage bed, a bowl of red stones and the smell of herbs. It didn't take her as long to proceed. She disrobed and sat on the bed.
There was rumbling and the bowl of stones tipped over, with the contents rolling on the floor, one on top of another, forming something of a humanoid figure. It moved closer to the wolf and, with two stones for eyes, stared at her. Bori stared back. There was a sense of awkwardness that only she could feel.
She was told that there were spirits embodying the elements, through the elements themselves. Apparently, that's what happened in the pool room, only not as obvious.
It took her a spell before she realized this stone creature, this elemental, was waiting for her. Cautiously, she lied down and made herself as comfortable as she could.
This place had a connection with the elemental planes. And everything that they encompass. And everything that they mean. The plane of water was not simply a place where there was majjixkal water. It was the place where water came from and all the associations with it. Water was emotion, it was content, the stuff of souls.
The same goes for earth. The element of earth wasn't just dirt and rocks. It was the body, the enjoyment of living and that energy that flows through the densest aspect of reality and well as some more ones.
The elemental put its hands on Bori's back. They were surprisingly smooth. The spirit itself touched her with an astonishing grace, massaging her carefully. In about a minute, Bori relaxed. This felt nice. She was never the one for massages, not knowing how to completely let go. Even now she was a bit squeamish, but it wasn't unpleasant.
The elemental pushed in. A crack echoed through the room from somewhere in her back. For a brief second, her entire body tensed up, she was gasping for air. And then, slowly she melted back into place. The spirit continued its workings, pushing, pulling and cracking, and she continued to slide further into deeper and deeper relaxation. With each crack of a joint, there was a torrent of electricity passing through her body, like a dam being torn down, like blockages were being removed and she was remembering what it was like to be her full self.
With each press of the elemental, she could almost feel it reaching deeper into her, deeper into her musculature and nervous system. It wasn't simply massaging her aching muscles. It was massaging her physical existence.
Like small hooks seeping into her, grabbing any misaligned particle of her being and placing it where is belonged. A shifting desert dune, trying to find its proper place amidst the landscape.
By the end of the session, she was torn down and rebuilt anew.
#
Bori and Kat sat naked in the steam room, their minds drifting. The process was automatized, with every few minutes a cup's worth of water would pour onto the hot coals at one end of the room. At the other end of the room stood a bowl of burning herbs. This one had its own blend, like the other rooms had their own.
Bori inhaled, slow and deep, her lungs filling with the smells of mystic grasses and the humidity of the space. Her exhaled was powerful and deliberate, focused. Unlike the pool where she would loose herself in her body, or the massage room where someone managed her body, here she set her own pace with her own diligence.
A window was opened, cold wind blowing into the room, giving a pleasant contrast of hot and cold. It helped her focus. Her fur clung to her body with sweat. And she could feel it. She could feel every strand of hair sticking, every tendon tensed up and every muscle pressed against her skin. She was aware of herself. She was inside herself now. She could feel her body in way she had forgotten when she was most likely leaving childhood behind. Her mind focused on a spot and her entire attention was drawn to it. She was in complete control of herself.
She had been reunited with her body and her body was aligned with her spirit.
And with one final exhale, she relaxed, her mind filling up the spaces of her body, inside her tissue and in-between her bones.
She sat there, the cool breeze hitting her bare chess and the steam warming her.
She was at peace.
#
``I'm not sure I understand this one exactly''.
``Relax, Bori. It's safe and it's simple'' Kat pointed to the stone chamber in the room. ``You get in and they warm you and that's it.''
Broi scratched the back of her neck. It seemed...unpleasant. She was rather larger and she didn't handle tight spaces very well. But everything went smoothly before and she had never felt better.
She focused herself and with a determined step she strode towards the chamber, leaving her robe behind and crossing a small bridge going over a stream of water in the process.
Bori stepped into the chamber and slammed the metal door behind her.
It was dark. Her frame barely fit in the space. Her breath was short. There wasn't much oxygen there. Then something flashed. A small spark, like a firefly glided down in front of her eyes and froze mid-air. Small eyes formed on the little spark. A mouth as well.
``Hello.''
``Uh...hi...''
``You are here for the treatment?''
``I guess I am.''
The sprite seemed to smile.
In an instant the entire chamber lit up.
A wave of fire engulfed her, heat passing through her. She screamed in pain as the flames surrounded her body and burnt through her.
And then there was nothing.
She was still there, alive, but there was no more pain. The fire was blazing, but it didn't hurt. She could feel it, burning her, but it was painless. The fires burnt something else. Withered fur. Dead skin. Imperfections. Either inborn or created. She was being cleansed and at the same time regrown. The elemental flames, the feathers of the phoenix. They were destroying all that was not needed in her. What was too damaged to be useful or too sick to be kept. And it was reestablished.
There was no pain. In fact, it felt wonderful. Energy surged through her like never before, igniting her will. Her heart pumped.
She had been cleansed, realigned, refocused and reshaped. She was complete. She could feet the blood through her veins, her nerves sending and receiving signals.
She was whole.
#
``Is she still going?'' the old monk asked Kat as he handed her a cup of tea.
``Oh, yes. She is a fighter. Those treatments really did a number on her.''
The monk sat next to the tabaxi and they looked over the wolf in the snow.
Bori was doing push-ups, naked except for her leggings. She felt the cold of the snow, but she didn't mind it. It felt good. She had been doing her training routine for at least an hour, without stopping for breaks, without drinking water. She was not tired. She wondered if she could ever get tired again? It didn't matter.
She pushed herself off the ground. It her mind it was like she was pushing the ground away from herself. Pecs and triceps tightening, contracting and relaxing. The wind blew through her hair, sending snow in her eyes and mouth. She didn't stop. As she exercised, her tongue rolled over the ball of snow. She salivated and crunched it into pieces, the water cooling her hot breath.
The sun went down.
