05. July 2017 - The Desert

Introduction
"A sky sheet, a burn hole, Black clad & squawking silhouettes, Lapping waves of fire to fell each creature, Lunging jaws open to savour their sticky hearts."

Wild Angelica's Playlist

 * Tlahoun Gessesse - Sethed Seketelat
 * Cat Power - Moonshiner
 * Phosphorescent - At Death, a Proclamation
 * Waxahatchee - Bonfire
 * Mazzy Star - Into Dust
 * M. Ward - Poor Boy, Minor Key

(i)
Anna thirsts in the dust of the desert for days. As exhaustion sets in and panic takes hold, she comes upon the site of the long-lost coven of The Wild Angelica; now, apparently, merely a sandswept altar of stone.

"Break out your cryptic crossword skills" "You're looking for a single standing stone on (ii)"
 * Hint
 * Hint

"SE"
 * Solutions
 * In Silence I begin and end - The first and last letters of silence are SE
 * I am in Presence and Absence both - SE is together in both words
 * The first in Seven days to write - SE starts seven
 * Missing from the ERA that wipes us clean - eraSE
 * And the DEN that packs us tight - denSE
 * I live on one side of a house - houSE
 * Where the wise end up last of all - wiSE
 * And I sit at the front of my seat - SEat
 * At the universe end; at the fall - univerSE

(ii)
One the standing stones surrounding the altar, the girl recognises the symbols of the coven's four houses: The Serpent, the Wolfspider, the Gila Monster, and the Mantis

"What did you learn from (i)?" "The Mantis sits in the SE"
 * Hint
 * Solution

(iii)
Anna approaches one of the stones, and as she does, the animal appears. It leads her to a dense labyrinth of dried branches, where something glints in the sun. She observes the creature navigate the dead bones of the trees and retrieve the object.

"It's not just the destination, it's the journey" "The maze lines trace the symbols on (iv)"
 * Hint
 * Hint

(iv)
Anna takes the object, speaks its true name, and places it on the altar as an offering to the creature of the house. She lights a ceremonial candle and repeats the ritual with three more objects as a sign of respect to all the houses of the coven.

(v)
As though a veil were lifted, the entrance to the coven of the Wild Angelica appears; upon its door a scrambled tesselock

(not a hint, but it would probably best to make a photocopy rather than cut up your CPP...)

(vi)
The door opens on the last living Angelican, appearing in three guises to offer salvation from the relentless heart of the desert.

"What sign did the tesselock make?"
 * Hint

As Cryptogram Puzzle Post is still running a competition with prizes for the first season, the guide will stop here for now. Once the Season 1 prizes are completely handed out, this will describe the solution for (vi) and (vii).

(vii)
An invocation is scribed upon the wall. The sister stares expectantly through six silver eyes. Anna is moved to speak....

References and Rabbit Holes
Helpful hints on Cryptic Crosswords
 * http://solving-cryptics.com/
 * http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/solve-cryptic-crosswords/

Wild Angelica
 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelica_sylvestris/
 * https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/wild-angelica-angelica-sylvestris