Author: Jesse

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Aurel is at his drawing table, working on a piece of metal. He doesn’t even seem to notice Isla in the doorway.

Isla steps into the workshop. “Aurel,” she says.

Slowly, Aurel puts down his tools and turns around. He’s wearing a set of magnifying lenses and doesn’t seem particularly pleased to see Isla. “I believe I told the servants to inform you I couldn’t be disturbed while I was working,” he says. “You are lucky you did not enter while I was doing anything delicate. What happened to my guard?”

Continue reading “03.17 – The Heart of the Matter”

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Isla stands frozen for an entire minute, staring at the horrifying creation lying limp on the chamber floor.

She has to do something. She doesn’t know what Aurel is trying to do, but she has to stop him, somehow. He’s working on some project in his study, she knows. She can confront him, talk to him, get him to explain himself, or…or something. He’s reasonable. He’ll listen, surely. Surely, he understands that this is not okay, that he can’t do this kind of…thing to people.

To her.

Continue reading “03.16 – Masked Confrontation”

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Voices again.

“–away from her, don’t you dare–“

A flash of knives, blue and white light in her eyes, cold pressure against her bare skin.

Lucian stands above her, a knife hanging delicate between her fingers. Isla can’t move, can’t speak, can’t do anything to make her stop as the knife sinks in–

“–wake up, Isla, it’s me! Isla, stop, you have to listen–“

Red eyes. Darkness.

There’s pressure on her from all sides, constricting shadows around her neck and burning pain trailing down her arms, glowing blue.

Then, through the darkness and the noise–that voice.

“I’m waiting, Isla.”

Continue reading “03.15 – Vicious Spell”

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Isla returns to the library. She has to ask for directions two times on the way there, but she makes it eventually. The table with her books has been cleared since she was in here last, which is annoying.

She starts searching through the shelves for something a bit more useful. Spellbooks, magical theory, obscure texts about magic herbs and rituals. Anything that might help her find Lucian and Solanus.

She gets a bundle of books and starts reading. There’s a lot of useless information to sift through–things like demon summoning circles and potions and other magic that won’t do what she needs it to do. It seems like every spell she finds that might even remotely do what she needs it to isn’t quite what she wants, or there’s not enough information on how to actually cast it.

“These trifles are unnecessary,” the witch whispers to her. “You have the power to find your friends through your will and my magic.”

Continue reading “03.14 – Whispering Shadows”

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Isla slowly regains consciousness some unknown amount of time later. Her head feels clearer, and she’s not aching anymore. She’s still on the sofa, and someone’s put a light blanket on top of her. It’s warm enough in the room that she doesn’t really think she needs it.

“Miss Isla, are you awake?” a servant asks from the door. “Are you feeling better now?”

Isla takes a moment to drink from a glass of water on a nearby end table, then says, “Yes, I’m feeling a lot better now. What time is it?”

“It is two o’clock in the afternoon. You have slept for an hour and a half,” the servant says. “If you are feeling better, the master would like to see you at your earliest convenience.”

Continue reading “03.13 – Mechanics and Knowledge”

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Voices.

“–at me, Isla! It’s me, Lucian!”

…Lucian’s voice. Where is it coming from?

“–have to get out of here, Isla, get me out of here, don’t–“

“–look at me like that, it’s me, you know me, please, don’t–“

Lucian grabs her by the shoulders and holds her against something hard. A wall? A table? Where is she?

Lucian isn’t smiling, isn’t doing anything, really. There’s no hint of recognition in her eyes as Isla pushes back, tries to move, and can’t. She tries to open her mouth to scream, but she can’t seem to–

There’s a knife. Lucian stares down at her with blank eyes and there’s voices all around that Isla can’t understand, words she can’t hear. The tip of the knife touches the hollow of her throat, just between her collarbones, and–

Darkness.

Continue reading “03.12 – The Palace Toll”

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Isla stumbles her way out of the building, her whole body shaking. Her head hurts, and she aches all over. She more collapses than walks through the door, and Aurel catches her by the arms.

“Are you okay?” he asks. “You are not injured?”

Isla shakes her head and takes a shuddering breath. “Lucian–Lucian’s been captured by someone. I saw her, she was in some kind of prison cell, I don’t know if she’s okay, she might be in danger right now–”

“Isla. Isla, please. Take a deep breath,” Aurel says, carefully guiding Isla to a seat. “Take a few deep breaths, then tell me what you saw.”

Continue reading “03.11 – Nightfall”

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If it was a long walk from the infirmary to the library, it’s a positively enormous distance from the library to Aurel’s workshop. The servant leads her down several corridors and paths of the palace, including a long glass walkway that she takes care not to look down in. At the end of the hallway is one of the palace’s great spires, and the servant takes her up a glass lift to yet another hallway filled with more tapestries and mosaic floors. It smells vaguely acidic.

Even going slowly, Isla is out of breath after all that walking.

“This is the master’s workshop,” the servant says. They pull the door open, and Isla goes in.

Aurel is at the back, working at a drafting table. He’s wearing a set of magnifying artificer’s lenses, which he carefully removes as he glances up at the door. “Isla. I hope you were well in my absence. Was your stay in our library informative?”

“You could say that,” Isla says.

Continue reading “03.10 – Visions From Afar”