ndygggesh

[aquadestinyswriting]

Take My Hand

Summary: Edwin writes his feelings for Selene into his diary as he struggles to come to terms with them.

Words: 637

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes , @homesteadchronicles, @warriorbookworm, @mariahwritesstuff, @ashirisu , @thesorcerersapprentice , @blind-the-winds , @philosophika , @the-down-upside-finch @flashfictionfridayofficial

Warnings: Sappy romantice feelings and angst? Also some pre-emptive grief stuff.

Notes: Written for the Flash Fiction Friday prompt 'Take My Hand' and set around a week before the events of To Heal A Broken Soul.

If you’d only place your hand in mine, I’d be able to show you how much you mean to me. But I can only watch as you push yourself ever further out to sea and leave me standing on the shore.

I can see how much you hurt. Can see the pain being inflicted on you by those with ill intent. And yet I cannot say a word about it. Not if I want to help you save the city you’ve been bleeding yourself dry for.

I want to scream and shout and whisk you away from the vipers with their fangs at your throat. But you’d never come with me. As much as my heart cries out for me to try, I have to respect the choices you’ve made.

Garden above, it’s killing me to know that you’d rather lose yourself to duty than to step back and let anyone else in. I can see how much it’s killing you too, but you’re too stubborn to acknowledge that. It’s becoming almost too frustrating to bear.

It would be enough to make me give up; were it not for the way my heart soars with every smile. The way my soul sings when you l hear you laugh. I know you do not feel the same for me, but I cannot help but continue to fall for you every time we speak. I love you, and I think I always have.

So as much as it hurts, I will sit here on the shore, waiting to jump in when the current inevitably becomes too strong for you to cope. I can only hope that you’ll take my hand when I am finally able to offer it, for I do not know what I shall do if you refuse. 

Edwin heaved a sigh, letting his quill drop to the desk as he placed his head in his hands. His chest ached as he swallowed down a sob. As much as he would continue praying otherwise, he knew what Selene’s choice would be, and it was almost enough to break him utterly. He pulled out his holy symbol and ran his thumbs over the carved, wooden surface. He bowed his head to it and closed his eyes, tears streaming into his beard. He muttered a short prayer, before speaking more candidly,

“Please, watch over her. I know she is no devotee, but I cannot bear the thought of- of-” 

Pre-emptive grief gripped his throat, choking off his words. Edwin felt the gentle caress of Galana on his shoulders, the touch of a mother consoling Her lost child. No words accompanied the gesture, but Edwin felt his shoulders relax as he finally allowed the dam to break. 

He did not know how long it was before he was able to compose himself. When he finally stopped sobbing, he looked out of the window. The soft lights of the lamps outside the garden met his gaze, their orange glow half-blocked by the trees and hedgerows lining the garden’s edge. Edwin rubbed his face and sat upright, closing the diary on the desk in front of him and placing the quill next to the inkpot. He stood and dusted himself down. Time to try convincing the woman he loved to accept his help yet again. Not that he had high hopes right now, but he had to make the attempt anyway. Edwin blew out the candle he’d been writing by, swept out of his office and cast his Windwalk spell to catch Selene as she left the Wizard’s Tower.

Chrackle blinked slowly as he watched the Abouna leave his church from his perch on the tree just outside the window of Edwin’s office. The magpie ruffled his feathers and took off after the human man. Maybe this time his mistress would listen.

[seanwinchester]

another day with jensus chrackles - prequel edition

[anotherobsessedsomething]

Rules: tag 10 people you would like to get to know better

Tagged by: @daloushar 

(thank you so much for tagging me btw, everytime I get tagged in something like this I am like: OMG people know I exsist and are interested in me! O_O  Is that normal or is it just me? lol :D)

Name: Not sharing my real name on here but I use Persephone for writing and fandom stuff

Birth year: 1996

Zodiac: Taurus

Height: 160 cm

Put your playlist on shuffle and list the first four songs: 

Promises by Sam Smith & Calvin Harris

Purple Rain by Prince

Let’s spend the night together live covered by BAP (original song by The Rolling Stones)

Ohne dich by Münchener Freiheit (English Version: Everytime)

Nearest book, page 23, line 17: 

Dann reagierst du nicht mehr instinktiv auf jeden einzelnen Gedanken, sondern betrachtest sie wie Wolken, die am Himmel vorbei ziehen. (from “Yoga für dein Leben” = Yoga for your life by Dirk Bennewitz & Andrea Kubasch)

Ever had a song/poem written about you? 

Yes, my dad writes poetry and he also wrote a poem for/about me. (He also wrote one for my brother and my mum in case anyone was wondering :D)

When was the last time you played air guitar? 

I think on New Years Eve. :D

Celebrity crushes? 

Ezra Miller, Adelhaide Kane... just the first two names that came to my mind :D There are so many more but in the moment somebody asks about it my mind just goes blank. :D

What is a sound you love/hate? 

I am kind of addicted to ASMR videos (any ASMR lovers here?), so many sounds I love are ASMR triggers (like tapping, whispering, fluttering fingers etc.) but I also love the sound of a chrackling fire or rain. Oh and I also love the chirping of crickets, it relaxes me. :D 

Sounds that I hate... the sound of styrofoam (I feel already uncomfortable thinking about that awful noise :D), high-pitched beeps, loud noises and the noises of many electric devices when it’s quiet can definetely freak me out. :D And I hate deep basses, because they make me sick. :D

Do you drive? 

No, still don’t have my drivers lisence.

Last book you read?

Do Fanfictions count? :D Otherwise the last book I’ve read (for like the 10th time because I just love it :D) was Hummeldumm by Tommy Jaud

Do you believe in ghosts?  

Let’s just say that I do not not believe in ghosts. :D

Do you believe in aliens? 

I think it’s bold to assume that humans are the only living beings in the universe.

Do you like the smell of gasoline? 

No I don’t think so, but I did when I was a kid though. :D

Last movie you saw: 

Pirates of the Caribbean (all of them lol :D)

Or do you mean at the cinema? Then it would be “Wackersdorf”

Do you have any obsessions right now? 

I fell head over heels in love with Ringsy almost a year ago and it’s still not over. (it probably never will be) :D But of course I will also always, yes always, obsess about Harry Potter and Skam, especially Evak. :D And recently I discovered Tom & Julius from the german series “Herzensbrecher - Vater von vier Söhnen” sadly there is not much content to obsess over (the series got canceled in 2016) but they are still my most recent obsession. You just can’t fight obsessions. :D

Do you tend to hold grudges? 

Kind of, like I easily forgive most of the time but I never forget and it’s really hard for me to let things go, so sometimes I am lying in my bed thinking about a fight I had with someone five years ago, thinking about what I should have said or what I should have done differently. 

Are you in a relationship right now? 

Yes.

I’ll tag: @dq-dramaqueen @xstrangesoundsx @puniiflash @hannah-banana2013  tagging 4 people is more than enough  

Please feel free to ignore this!

[aquadestinyswriting]

Story Snippet

So I don't have anything concrete to post just yet, but I have been working on stuff. Mainly on stories for The Wizard's Tale because Selene's story is just feeling a little more compelling right now. I figured I might as well post a little snippet of one of the stories I've been working on since I know some of you guys love the relationship Selene has with Chrackle

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes, @mariahwritesstuff, @ashirisu, @thesorcerersapprentice, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch, @lexiklecksi

Selene gently put her quill down and pushed her glasses up her nose, eyes narrowing behind them. Whatever this ripple was, it was too small to be anything too threatening. That, however, didn’t discount the use of some sort of cantrip designed to distract her attention away from something more malevolent. Selene stood, ready to cast a Dispel at whatever or whoever was trying to intrude, only to whip her head around at Chrackle’s squawk. She blinked as her magpie harried a slim, furry creature out from behind the bookcase. A ferret. 

Chrackle cackled at the ferret, fluttering up out of range as it whipped its head up to snap at him. He hovered over it glaring at the furry intruder, debating whether to cast something at it to chase it out,

~A familiar?~ Selene’s voice echoed in his head. Chrackle glanced at his mistress and clacked his beak,

~Yes. Unknown too. It’s not one of the students’, I’ve got all their coat patterns memorised.~ he confirmed, sending his mistress his mental images of the ferrets he knew. Selene nodded and walked around her desk towards the ferret that was now hissing at her companion as he hovered above it, out of reach. She huffed a sigh and loomed over it, gently pulling some magic in. Not enough for any major spells, just enough to get its attention. Immediately the ferret sat up on its haunches and stared up at the human woman, the only movement it now made being the twitch of its nose. Selene snorted,

“Ah, so you are capable of somewhat rational thought.” she said, “Now, given that you don’t belong to any of the students who study here, I have to wonder who you belong to and why you’re in my study without permission.” She waited patiently, glancing at Chrackle, who huffed at her mentally,

~Do I have to?~ he whined, ~You know I hate debasing myself like this!~

~Unfortunately, Chrackle, Sylvan is one of the  few languages I can’t speak or understand. So, yes, if you could please translate, it would be much appreciated.~~Alright, fine! But I want some extra shinies for my nests this year!~ the corvid demanded.

[aquadestinyswriting]

Titan Modern AU- Chapter One

Summary: Meredith gets to meet with one of the people in charge of her new post. A quick conversation about Fangthane culture is had before the discussion turns to other matters- namely where Constable Gruksdottir is going to be staying.

Words: 1,161

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes @warriorbookworm, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch, @hippiewrites

Warnings: Some talk about fictional religions but otherwise only avoid if the idea of women with beards grosses you out.

Notes: I fully admit, I just wanted a justification for Merri to keep her beard because I literally cannot see her without one. It allowed me to do some worldbuilding though, which is always fun.

Meredith stood at firm attention with her arms behind her back. The only indication of what she was feeling being a slight quirk of an eyebrow when she caught the surprised stare of the Diplomatic Envoy she was being introduced to out of the corner of her eye. 

Lieutenant Starhammer coughed politely, sitting down behind his desk and waving at his new constable,

“At ease, Gruksdottir. This is meant to be an informal chat. A chance fer us all to get to know each other.” he said. He beamed at the tall, slim woman, who was now settling down into the couch next to the fireplace, “Lady Frigidwake here is the Diplomatic Envoy to the Kingdom of Fangthane. She’s not quite the one in charge, but she does do a lot of work to keep things ticking along as smoothly as possible.” he explained. The Envoy laughed and smiled at both Fangthanians as Meredith relaxed her stance,

“Well, I try to.” she quipped. She gestured to the magpie sitting quietly on her shoulder, “This is Chrackle, he’s a companion of mine. I must ask that you try not to pay him too much attention as he’s supposed to be a working animal.” Meredith nodded, noting with amusement the slightly offended-sounding croak the bird made,

“I’ll bear that in mind, Ma’am.” she said. “I realise that you are, of course, versed in a great deal of Fangthanian culture, but I couldn’t help but notice your surprise as you walked in, Ma’am.” she noted. The other woman flushed a little in embarrassment,

“Ah, yes. I do apologise, that was insensitive. I’m afraid to say that I haven’t had much experience with the Throffite community. Very few Fangthanian women grow their beards out these days, so when I was informed that Lieutenant Starhammer was expecting a female constable, I made an assumption. Again, I apologise.” she said. Meredith shook her head, finally,

“No offence has been taken, Ma’am.” she stated, “You are quite correct, the majority of Fangthanian women shave, and I am very much an exception. Believe me, I am quite used to awkward stares and questions.” Lady Frigidwake pursed her lips and toyed with the end of a strand of greying auburn hair,

“That still does not excuse my conduct.” she retorted, “However, lessons have been learned and I shall not dwell on it any further.” she added, tickling her magpie under his beak as he nibbled at her ear. 

Starhammer chuckled and leaned back in his seat, which creaked loudly, 

“Well, now that we’re all acquainted, I think we can finally turn to business.” he said. He looked to Meredith first,

“I understand ye didn’t get a chance to work out someplace to stay while you’re here, given how quickly ye were kicked out the capital. I’d offer to put you up myself, but my youngest has had to move back home and has brought the weans, so there’s no room, I’m afraid.” 

Meredith shook her head,

“You don’t need to go to that kind of trouble, sir.” she protested, “I’ll be happy enough to keep staying at the Crabbit Sow until I can find somewhere more permanent.” 

Starhammer snorted,

“I’m no’ having ye waste all yer savings like that, lass.” he retorted. The Lieutenant turned to Lady Frigidwake,”D’ye ken of anyplace that’ll be willing to put her up?” he asked. The envoy tapped a finger on her chin thoughtfully,

“I’d need to make a couple of calls, but yes, I think I might know some people.” she replied. She pushed her glasses back up her nose as she smiled at Meredith, “I’ll have somewhere for you to stay by the end of the day.” she chirped. This time it was Meredith’s turn to flush,

“Ye really don’t need to go to so much trouble –” Starhammer scoffed,

“Lassie! It’s no trouble. Ye’re a constable of the Stronghold Guardian Corps! Since we dinna have a barracks on site, that means ye’re entitled to have a place to live nearby.” he reminded her. “Moradin’s beard, ye’re an uptight one, aren’t ye? Auld Vanskleig’s right when he says that working here for a bit’ll be good for ye.” he added.

Meredith opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find some way to protest, but couldn’t find the words to refute what her new commanding officer had just said. After a moment, she huffed a sigh,

“Aye, sir.” she grumbled. Lady Frigidwake shook her head,

“I’ll go make those calls now, then. Lieutenant Starhammer, was there anything else we needed to discuss in the meantime?” she asked. Smoothing down her skirt as she stood. Starhammer thought for a moment, then shook his head,

“Nothing that can’t wait until next week, lass.” The old soldier stood, with a bit of effort, and bowed slightly to the envoy, “In the meantime, please give my regards to Father Shiverstaff, and remind him that he still owes me drinks.” he added with a smile. Lady Frigidwake laughed and inclined her head slightly

“I’ll pass the message on.” she said. She turned to Meredith, who had by now also stood and was standing at attention again, “It was a pleasure to meet you Constable Gruksdottir, I look forward to working with you.” she said. Meredith snapped off a salute,

“Aye, Ma’am.” she stated. Lady Frigidwake smiled, sent Lieutenant Starhammer a knowing look, then swept out of the office. Starhammer sighed as he turned to Meredith,

“I’ve got my work cut out, haven’t I?” he muttered. He picked up the top sheet from a stack of papers, “Well, seeing as ye’ve been sent back down to start from scratch, I might as well have ye on guard duty at the front door until I get word of what Command wants done with ye, or we figure out where yer strengths lie.” he said. Meredith nodded brusquely and saluted again,

“Aye, sir.” she stated. She sent him a quizzical look, “May I ask what time I can leave my post, sir?” she asked. The Lieutenant sighed,

“Well, the office closes for the day at five-thirty. Seeing as I’m pretty much the only other person here for now, you might as well clock off then.” he replied. Meredith nodded,

“Of course, sir. Thank you, sir.” she said. There were a few moments’ silence until Starhammer heaved a sigh,

“Ye’re free to leave and get to yer post, Constable.” he said wearily. “If there does happen to be any trouble out there, ye do have permission to get involved.” he added just as Meredith began marching out the door.

“Understood, sir.” Meredith called as she finally exited the room, leaving Starhammer to wonder just what he’d gotten himself into. He opened the folder he’d been sent from Sergeant Major Ragnarsson, reading through the various evaluation forms and report summaries. He stroked his moustache thoughtfully,

“Well now, I think I owe the Field Marshal quite the favour for this.” he murmured.

[aquadestinyswriting]

A Circle None Can Break- Part Fourteen point five

Summary: Edwin has stayed up way past his usual bedtime for Selene to come back from the Cathedral.

Words: 784

Warnings: trigger warnings for drunkenness

Notes: a cute little aside that wouldn't fit into the main chapter. Don't worry, Chrackle didn't have anything to drink directly, he just happened to be in Selene's proximity

tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes , @homesteadchronicles, @warriorbookworm, @mariahwritesstuff, @writeblrsupport, @ashirisu, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch

Edwin looked nervously into the pint he’d been nursing for the last two and half hours. It had been at least four hours since Selene had been escorted away from the front door of Fangthane, along with Meredith, by Captain Bloodvein. Gruk had happily informed Edwin and Snorri that Meredith had been returned home over two hours ago. What in all the hells was taking Selene so long? He jumped as Snorri collapse into the seat next to him with a weary groan, having thrown out the last patron of the night and finally shut the door.

“Tell ye what, I’m glad all that kerfuffle’s done.” he sighed, “As much as I appreciate the extra business, it’s a right bother at the end o’ the night.” The ex-slayer’s eyes narrowed as he noticed how much was left in Edwin’s cup, “C’mon lad, cheer up. Yon wizard’s fine. The king’s changed his mind, so I doubt she’s been chucked out now.” he encouraged. Edwin shook his head,

“I’m sorry Snorri, but I was expecting her to be back hours ago. What if Selene lost her temper again and is back in the dungeons after all that effort? What if –” Edwin’s tired mind screeched to a stop as the side door creaked open, causing his head to whip around just in time to see a sheepish Selene close the door behind her,

“It’s late, I know, I’m so sorry.” she apologised, “After His Majesty agreed that he would let Meredith help, we got chatting and we completely lost track of time.” Edwin’s worried frown lifted into an amused smirk as he took in the flush across Selene’s cheeks and ears,

“You sure it was just the talking that made you lose track of what time it was and not the wine?” Selene shook her head,

“Of course not! We didn’t have that much.” she protested. Edwin simply continued smiling at her as Chrackle fluttered his wings to try and keep his balance, bobbing unevenly from side to side. He nodded, getting up and looping an arm around her shoulder,

“Of course not.” he agreed, “Come on, bed. Even if you don’t need to leave first thing in the morning any more, it’s been enough of a day that you probably need to sleep.” Selene tried pushing the Abouna away, only to end up swaying right back into his arms again,

“‘M not tired though.” she protested, “An’ you can sh – shut up.” she slurred, glaring at Chrackle, who had finally given up on balancing on his mistress’ shoulder and had landed on the table flat on his stomach with his wings splayed out to either side. Snorri bit back a laugh, picked the bird up and gestured for Edwin to bring Selene up to her room,

“Ye might not be tired, love, but I bet you wish the world would stop moving, aye?” he said as the trio ascended the stairs. Selene nodded, squeezing her eyes shut,

“Mountains can’t go on boats… but this is an elemental. Has the mountain gone walkies?” she asked with a small hiccough. Snorri coughed to cover his bark of laughter,

“Wrong bit of the mountain, hen.” he said, opening the door of the room he’d allowed Selene to stay in. Snorri met Edwin’s gaze as the cleric hefted Selene past the dwarven barkeep and raised an eyebrow. Edwin shook his head, helped Selene onto the bed and got some water for her.

Edwin sighed softly as Selene groaned,

“I’m glad you and King Storri finally managed to have a chance to just talk.” he said. Selene grinned up at him,

“Spent the evening slagging off Sh – Schre –... bastard Chancellor and Sliverhand.” she hiccoughed. “Lots in common.” Edwin nodded patiently,

“That’s good. I’m glad you were both able to have the opportunity to vent.” he said, filling a jug with some water and leaving it on the nightstand. He pulled the sheets over Selene, who blinked blearily, clearly trying to stay awake,

“Edwin?” she said softly. Edwin looked down at her and cocked his head,

“Yes Selene?” he asked, voice soft. Selene beamed up at him,

“Thank you. You’ve done so much. You’re a good friend, best friend in whole world.” she yawned. Edwin resisted the urge to tuck the stray hair in her face behind her ear, opting instead for backing up and blowing out the lantern,

“You’re welcome Selene. Good night.” he called gently, already aware that his words had fallen on deaf ears as Selene began snoring. The Abouna shook his head, ignoring the pang of regret in his chest as he closed the door and walked back down the stairs to head back to his own lodgings.

[aquadestinyswriting]

To Heal A Broken Soul: Epilogue -Confessions of a Troubled Heart

Summary: Selene and Edwin finally have a heart to heart about what happened three days ago.

Words: 1,705

Warnings: None. Fluffy fluff is extremely fluffy.

Tag list (dm to +/-): @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes , @homesteadchronicles, @warriorbookworm, @mariahwritesstuff, @ashirisu , @thesorcerersapprentice , @blind-the-winds , @philosophika , @the-down-upside-finch

Notes: I did a re-write of the original version, as I felt that one didn't flow quite the way I wanted it to following the revisions I've made to the earlier chapters.

It was two whole days after her Resurrection before Selene could even stay awake long enough to have more than a few bites of food. Not that Edwin had been any better; the poor man had also spent what time he hadn’t been fretting over her dozing in a chair next to her bed. Selene grunted as she pulled herself up to sitting, while she was still tired and achy she was now too awake to want to just lie and listen to the goings on of the world outside. She sat still for a moment, gasping from the exertion. 

~Don’t go getting any stupid ideas. Edwin’s only dozing.~ Chrackle’s voice stated in her head. Selene glared up at the magpie sitting on top of one of the posts of her bed,

~I’m not, but I am now awake and aware enough to get bored.~ she retorted, ~But since you’re going to be a little tattle-tale, why don’t you go grab the book I want while I create enough light to read by?~ she suggested. 

~But it’s too big for me to carry!~ Chrackle whined, gently clacking his beak to emphasise his annoyance. Selene snorted,

~Well, go find someone to bother to get it for me then, since I’m not allowed to leave this damn bed!~

“Well, you must be feeling better if you’re bickering with Chrackle, even if I can’t hear it.” Edwin’s voice suddenly stated, causing Selene’s gaze to snap to the cleric. Edwin stretched as he looked between magpie and familiar, “Let me guess, you need something and Chrackle either can’t or doesn’t want to get it for you?” he queried. Selene felt herself flushing as she took in Edwin’s rumpled hair and vestments,

“Something like that.” she muttered. Tearing her gaze away and looking out at the rest of her room instead, “I’m sorry if we woke you.”

Edwin shook his head and stood up, 

“You didn’t, I was on the verge of waking up anyway. Which book was it?” he asked. Selene looked back at him, huffing a half-irritated sigh,

“Calibrian’s Treatise on Inter-Planar Relationships, it’s the one I was trying to continue reading the other day.” she replied. Edwin nodded and made his way across towards the bookcase near the fireplace to find the book in question. Selene watched him for a moment or two before, before shaking back the sleeves of her nightdress and muttering an incantation under her breath. 

Edwin’s head snapped up at the sound of a sharp hiss. He looked in the direction the sound had come from just in time to see a Light spell flicker and die and Selene clench her fists. He immediately rushed over and sat on the edge of the bed,

“Selene! Are you alright?” he asked, looking the woman over to make sure there were no signs of spidering. Selene, who had scrunched her eyes closed, nodded,

“I’m alright.” she murmured, wheezing, “Fingers just sting a bit is all.” 

Edwin took a hold of Selene’s hands and coaxed them open, inspecting the slender fingers. The ends were a bit red, but otherwise seemed to be unharmed. He looked up at Selene’s face, which was more relaxed, but still pinched a little in pain. He gently rubbed the fingers in his hands and muttered a prayer. A soft green light sunk into the wizard’s hands, and he finally felt Selene relax completely. 

“What happened?” Edwin asked as his Cure spell completed. Selene hung her head, avoiding Edwin’s gaze,

“I figured that I’d get a Light spell going so I could read more easily. Save you the hassle of fiddling with the lamps.” she muttered. Edwin gingerly squeezed Selene’s hands,

“I don’t mind doing whatever it is you need, Sel.” he said quietly, “You don’t have to push yourself to get back to normal as soon as possible.” 

Selene raised her head again, her eyes brimming and lip trembling,

“You don’t get it, Edwin. A Light spell is one of the most simple cantrips to cast. If I can’t manage even that –” 

“Selene, you died not three days ago. You need to allow yourself a chance to recover from that.” 

“But what if – “

Edwin gripped Selene’s hands more tightly, causing her to stumble to a stop. He gently tilted her head so she was looking at him more directly,

“Selene, you need to relax.” he told her, his voice soft, “Stressing yourself out like this is only going to make you relapse, and I don’t want to go through that again.”

Selene’s throat constricted painfully. Dim memories of his voice confessing his love for her flitted through her head, making her heart ache. Had he truly meant what he said?

~You know, for being as intelligent as you are, you’re pretty damn clueless.~ Chrackle’s voice suddenly piped up. Selene glared at her familiar, who was cleaning his beak on the sheets at the foot of the bed.

~And what’s that supposed to mean?!~ she snapped mentally. She felt Chrackle roll his eyes,

~Mistress, the man has been besotted with you since you came to Fangthane about the God Clay. I think he meant what he said.~ the magpie sighed. He ruffled his feathers and cocked his head in Edwin’s direction, ~The question is, do you love him back?~ 

Selene flicked her gaze back to Edwin, who was watching her calmly. Her heart skipped a little as she took in the laughter lines around his eyes, the grey streak that had started growing into his beard, the quiet smile on his lips that dimpled his cheeks ever so slightly. Every last detail took her already short breath away. Add in the fact that he had never once let her down despite all her best efforts to push him away since he had arrived in Toreguarde and – Of course she loved him. More than anything else in this world. But could she really allow herself to? Especially since there was every possibility that either of them could die tomorrow?

“Then you make the most of the time you have.” Greg’s voice echoed in her head. All the other Gods damn it! 

Edwin’s calm expression pinched into one of worry as he noticed a flush start to creep up Selene’s cheeks as she stared at him. His heart leapt into his throat,

“Sel, are you alright. Don’t tell me you’re –” he was cut off as Selene waved a hand,

“No, no I’m fine. It’s just –” Selene quickly ducked her head so Edwin couldn’t see the sheer embarrassment on her face, “Cur ita velim Durus.” she hissed in Draconic. She felt Chrackle’s smug amusement as he fluttered over to her headboard. She sent him a mental glare as she struggled to come up with the words that could convey to Edwin what she was thinking, never mind feeling.

Edwin, swallowed down his initial burst of fear, replacing it with a worried sense of confusion. He squeezed Selene’s hands again,

“Alright, breathe.” he said as calmly as he could manage on hearing the wheeze in the wizard’s chest. He waited until Selene actually took a deeper breath than the ones she’d been taking, “What’s the matter?” he asked. 

Selene glanced up at the cleric, still struggling to work out how to tell him what she’d heard and how she felt. She felt Chrackle shove her mentally,

~Just tell him the truth! You’ve both spent long enough talking past one another already!~ He squawked in her head. Selene sent her familiar a mental glare before finally lifting her head and looking to the window on her left side,

“I heard you, you know.” she said quietly, “When you were trying to – well, you know.”

Edwin’s eyes widened and he instinctively pulled away a little, his heart skipping wildly,

“You – You did?” he squeaked, feeling his cheeks and ears begin to burn. Selene bit her lip, looking down at her bedsheets, even as she shifted so she would be facing him directly. She took in a shaky breath,

“That’s why I decided to come back. I didn’t want to leave this world before telling you that I – I love you too.” she admitted her voice quiet, embarrassed. 

Edwin simply stared at Selene. Had she just –? He was awake, right? He hadn’t dozed off again once he’d sat down? He felt Selene grip at his hand nervously. Ok, so definitely awake. Which meant –

Edwin’s face split into a huge smile, his heart soaring as he breathed out a laugh,

“Galana save us, we’re both such fools.” he chuckled, reaching out and tucking a strand of curled, auburn hair behind Selene’s ear before taking out his Holy Symbol and beaming at it, “I’m guessing that’s why She even let me make the attempt even after I’d expended everything She had to give.” he added, his throat constricting with emotion. 

Selene shook her head,

“I’m not even going to get into that.” she murmured, “However I do believe I owe you several dozen apologies. At least according to Chrackle. She added, glaring at her familiar, who simply cackled at her, while crowing smugly in her head. Edwin gently forced her to look at him again,

“Selene, you have nothing to apologise for.” he said softly, “Feelings are hard and strange and exceedingly difficult to deal with at the best of times. I was quite content to know my own heart even if my feelings for you weren’t reciprocated.” he told her. “I am, however, beyond happy to know that they are.” 

Selene swallowed thickly, her heart felt ready to burst and she felt warmer than she had in what felt like an age. She suddenly leaned forward and hugged the cleric, burying her face into the space between his shoulder and neck,

“Thank you.” she said, her voice muffled. Edwin didn’t say anything as he wrapped his arms around Selene’s slender frame and returned the hug. Chrackle croaked happily as he felt his mistress’ joy, happiness and contentment, fluttering over to the nest he’d started making in the nearby hatstand and quietly closing off the telepath connection with Selene. Now that the matter had finally been settled, he could safely leave her in Edwin’s hands. At least for the time being.

[aquadestinyswriting]

Another writing snippet

I've been looking through my WIP folders to check in on my backlog and came across this hilarious story that I started about two years ago. This section of it is what happens when you give a European magpie even more intelligence and the ability to use and cast magic.

There was nothing quite like the sensation of fresh, cool air between one’s feathers, Chrackle thought to himself as he soared high above Toreguarde’s central plaza. The magpie swooped down and landed on top of the head of the statue of his mistress and cleaned his pinion feathers. Spring was almost here and he had to look his best if he wanted to attract a decent mate. Not that his previous dalliances weren’t decent, but the previous year’s had been a little too air-headed for his tastes. Chrackle chuckled quietly to himself, ideally he would find another wizard’s familiar to settle down with, but apparently the only one to appreciate his clearly superior kind was his own mistress. Something to do with being seen as ‘common thieves’ and ‘bad luck’ or some such tripe and nonsense.

The bird cocked his head and looked down at the various people going about their daily business. A group of three noblemen passed by, chattering about the latest news that had filtered in from the western coast. Apparently Port Blacksand was getting uppity and placing import taxes on pretty much anything coming through their port, which was beginning to irritate the nearby Bleak Academy. Chrackle stored the information away for later, no doubt his mistress was going to be quite interested in that particular turn of events...

A glint on the ground caught his attention almost immediately after, causing the magpie’s head to snap around in the direction the glint had come from. Chrackle’s eyes pinned as he focused on the object more closely, recognising it as some sort of bracelet. The corvid blinked as he lifted his head and looked at the humanoids passing by beneath him. None were paying any attention to the ground, and no one seemed to be frantically looking around for a missing item…

Chrackle croaked as he fluttered to the ground to take a closer look at the bracelet. It was made of finely wrought mythril and studded with diamonds, real ones if the way the sun shone through them was any indication. Chrackle cocked his head and tugged on the faint connection to his mistress. While he was nowhere near close enough to properly cast anything, he could still use it to check if the item he was looking at was magical. He blinked again as his eyes lit up with a faint blue-purple glow, studying the lazy drift of the currents of magic around the bracelet. The item lit up in a blaze of bright blue almost immediately, causing Chrackle to squawk and turn off the ability almost as quickly as he had turned it on. Alright, so the bracelet was definitely enchanted. Chrackle hopped back up onto the dais of the closest statue, and looked intently around at the people passing by. Once more, no one seemed to be frantically looking around for the item and no one else appeared to have noticed it. Surely if the owner really wanted their item back, they would have noticed it was gone, especially since the enchantment upon it seemed to be incredibly powerful, right?

The magpie looked back down at the bracelet. On the one hand, he was constantly being told off for bringing back abandoned items to the tower. On the other, he needed to get a wing up on the uppity young male that had picked out Chrackle’s original choice for a mate the previous year. If this didn’t get the attention of all the females in the city, then nothing would. 

His mind made up, Chrackle fluttered back down to the ground and picked up the bracelet in his beak and immediately flew back up into the air and shot towards the Garden of Galana to the southwest. He never noticed the young elven woman being accompanied by two officers from watchhouse one walking towards the statue whose dais he had been perching on.

[aquadestinyswriting]

Last Line and WIP Wed... Friday

Got tagged for the Last Line game by @blind-the-winds and WIP Wednesday by @sparrow-orion-writes. Figured I'd combine them ages later since I've been taking a short break from writing most of this week. Have what I managed to get done before work this morning, which is a snippet of a new one shot for The Wizard's Tale.

Tagging: @druidx, @warriorbookworm, @mariahwritesstuff, @ashirisu, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch

Chrackle’s head snapped up, his eyes pinning as he scanned the large room that was his mistress’ office. He shook out his feathers as he noticed the pause in the scratching of Selene’s quill, ~What’s the matter Chrackle?~ the wizard’s voice asked in his head, her mental voice wary. The magpie croaked softly as he fluttered over to one of the many bookcases lining the wall opposite the large window, ~Not sure. Felt a ripple.~ he paused as he cocked his head to one side, trying to sense where the ripple in the weave had come from. There it was again, but it had moved. He swivelled his head towards the bookcase nearest the door, gently pulling some magic from Selene as he cast Detect Magic to see if that made finding the disturbance easier.  Selene gently put her quill down and pushed her glasses up her nose, eyes narrowing behind them. Whatever this ripple was, it was too small to be anything too threatening. That, however, didn’t discount the use of some sort of cantrip designed to distract her attention away from something more malevolent.

[aquadestinyswriting]

for the not so nice asks (any oc): wound

Hi Kraken, thanks for the question. The random generator chose Chrackle, of all the characters, for this one. Answer under a cut because Chrackle is an animal, even if he is an adventurer by proxy. Also due to spoilers for To Heal a Broken Soul.

How does your OC handle being wounded? Are their wounds mostly physical? Mental? Emotional? What's the worst wound your OC has ever experienced?

Chrackle does not handle being wounded well. Being a bird, he is much more prone to going into shock than the wizard he's the familiar of. Luckily he's never been severely wounded, but he has experienced hurts that are more than simply nicks and scrapes. Rope burns on the beak and around the wing joints is pretty painful.

For Chrackle, it's a bit of a toss-up as to whether he has had more physical hurts than mental ones. Being the familiar (and thereby emotional support magpie) of one of the most powerful wizards on Titan comes with getting a bunch of mental damage when her mental health completely tanks. This is almost entirely thanks to having a telepathic and empathetic connection to the wizard in question.

The worst wound Chrackle has ever experienced though? Was probably when Selene died of a case of Burnout. The connection between wizard and familiar is a pretty deep one thanks to those telepathic and empathetic connections. When a wizard dies, their familiar is hit not just with a great deal of emotional turmoil, but also the effects of sudden aging as the magic that sustains them as a magical creature is cut off. This kind of shock to a familiar's system is usually enough to kill most creatures, but some manage to hang on in hopes that the wizard can be resurrected (usually if the death is sudden and the wizard is young enough to potentially want to come back from the Waiting Room), but most die within a few days themselves. As Selene was resurrected almost immediately after her death, Chrackle didn't have to worry about that, but the spiritual and mental scars that experience has left him with will likely never heal entirely.

[aquadestinyswriting]

[Eleanor pops into view.] Selene, for reasons I don't entirely understand, I feel compelled to ask you this: from one scholar intent on exploring the mysteries of the universe to another, how do you deal with overly cautious traveling companions? Or perhaps putting it another way, how do you convince your overly cautious traveling companions to trust your judgment now and then, rather than resort to using magic—newfound or not—to stop you from experimenting with those fascinating new artifacts you've stumbled across? You know your companion means well and cares about you, but sometimes, you just need to convince them to trust your judgment, right? Or at the very least stop giving you that look every time you even remotely consider satisfying your curiosity about those mysterious ruins. You know the one, I'm sure—the look, I mean. In any case, eagerly awaiting your wisdom and insight!

*Checks to make sure Edwin is distracted by the girls* Hi Eleanor, apologies for the time it took to answer this, there's been some sort of lurgy doing the rounds over here at the moment. Don't worry, I'm fine now.

That is quite the question. I do empathise about the overly cautious travelling companions, it seems Edwin's time spent in Fangthane has made him incredibly cautious about a great many things to do with arcane magic. I mean, it's somewhat understandable, but it's so frustrating. Then you have the bint of a bird I call a familiar constantly getting on my case either in my ear or in my head. However, with Chrackle, he at least can be easily distracted or directed to go do something else. Edwin however...

I've found that reminding Edwin that I was trained by one of the greatest wizards of his age for at least a decade and a half often works. Yastromo, while an incredibly powerful wizard up until his passing, was a man who impressed upon me how dangerous magic can be if used improperly and I took those lessons to heart.

Chrackle: *fluttering onto Selene's shoulder* You forget that Yasty took on because you shocked yourself trying to cast cantrip that one time?

Selene: *glaring at him* I was a child and untrained at the time! Now hush!

*clears throat* Anyway, during our most recent adventure, Edwin was, honestly quite rightly, a lot more cautious; so when it came to finding those fascinating new fields of study we discovered along the way, it was incredibly difficult to persuade him to allow me the chance to really dig into the arcane side of things at the time. The only way I found to get around that without resorting to using magic was to remind him of the thing I said earlier and if that didn't work, then I would either get Chrackle to grab whatever it was that was so interesting if it was small enough, or if it was too big, simply acquiesce then insist we come back to pick it up later. Unfortunately, Edwin can be incredibly persuasive when he wants to be, and he knows damn well that I can't say no when he looks at me a certain way.

As for experimenting with those artefacts that he does let me pick up? I just wait until he's asleep. Unfortunately that only works if your companion is as deep a sleeper as Edwin often is when he's on the road. If your own companion is a lighter sleeper, then I've found that explaining every precaution that needs to be taken, then implementing it in front of them, tends to work wonders. A lot of the excess caution comes from not fully understanding how the magic works to begin with and then being afraid of any potential negative consequences that can come from experimentation of anything unusual. Explaining what the potential risks are and then doing everything in your power to mitigate them (depending on the level of said risks) often makes those watching relax at least enough for you to tinker and experiment to a limited degree. However, I admit that this will only work if the risks can be mitigated. If not, then I usually have to call it quits and let it go until I can get other wizards to come with me to check the place or artefact out.

I hope that at least some of that was helpful. Unfortunately as I've never met your companion, I can only offer limited advice based on my own experiences with Edwin. I do wish you the best of luck with whatever it is you wish to research, and if you do manage to convince your companion to allow you to, I'd love to hear about it.

[aquadestinyswriting]

Funnily enough, 🍀 right back at you. I'm always really fascinated by the process of creating characters for DnD, mostly because it's collaborative, and idk, at least in my experience, you might start off with a concept, but you're not necessarily going to end with it thanks to DM intervention, haha. Tl;dr, 🍀 for as many characters that are yours and that you're willing to talk about? :D

I am so, so sorry it took this long to answer this Jax. December was.... a month. I am fully back now though and will finally get around to answering this. Question is from this ask game.

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC?

Alright, so I will answer only for those OCs I was the creator of and not for those whose lore I expanded upon from the original DM of the campaign. There aren't quite as many as you'd think in all honesty.

Selene: I won't lie. Selene was totally inspired by the character of Evelyn from The Mummy (1999). When I was asked if I wanted to join my then new boyfriend's D&D group, I knew instantly what kind of character I wanted to play since I loved the concept of a character that started out as a librarian going out on an adventure and getting in way over her head since seeing Rachel Weiss play Evelyn in that movie. Of course since Selene was my first ever roleplay character, her personality is still very much a reflection of my own, though it has since been fleshed out quite a bit since she was retired.

Chrackle: What is a wizard without a familiar? I knew I wanted a corvid as a familiar as the typical image is of a wizard with a raven. However, I wanted something a little different and already knew that unlike ravens, magpies could identify themselves in mirrors (animal behaviour classes at uni for the win here). I loved the idea of having a familiar that was a little smarter than average, could speak in a limited manner and could potentially get his wizard into trouble by stealing valuable stuff any time he could get away with it. Chrackle's personality was mostly developed through gameplay and he was much more set in stone by the time that first campaign (for me) ended.

Meredith: Merri was actually kind of inspired by one of my fellow roleplayers. He is a devout Christian, and his mannerisms playing his own clerics during the previous campaign gave me a little bit of insight into how I wanted to play mine. The rest is mostly based on myself at the time and quite a lot more on the person I aspired to be. it helps a little that, while lapsed, my father was brought up Catholic, so I also incorporated some of the stuff he told me about his time as a choir boy and being involved in that community as the DM was quite clear about his inspirations for the Temple of Moradin.

Yoruk: Yoruk was created quite a lot later than Meredith was. At the time, I was writing Meredith's backstory and wasn't sure if I wanted her to already be betrothed to someone before leaving on her adventure (mostly because I was umm-ing and ah-ing about shipping Merri with Elowyn at the time. Talk about the slowest of slow burn potential relationships). Then Yoruk went ahead and introduced himself and his relationship with his mother (who was an npc mentioned by the DM at one point) and I went 'Yes!' (which then, sadly, put paid to the idea of Merri getting with Elowyn at all). I will not lie; Yoruk's relationship with his mother is one that is partially inspired by my own fractious relationship with my mum. Thankfully my upbringing was not nearly that bad, but I did project onto him a teeny bit.

Skarld Firetome: Firetome was heavily inspired by Frollo in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (and a little bit by all the huge controversies regarding the leaders of the catholic church that was big news for a while at the time). I needed someone semi-competent in the upper echelons of the Church of Moradin in Fangthane for the plot I was weaving once I took over the reigns of the campaign and those inspirations helped a lot. Hubs then helped me out by pointing me towards the Wordbearers Legion from Warhammer 40k lore, which helped fill out the rest and gave me the idea of Firetome secretly being part of a demonic cult working to undermine the church he purportedly worked for (fuck you, Erebus :P). I am working to fill out what he was up to in the leadup to Fangthane's Folly and adding in hints of him working with Darkhide and the Cabal (which, I acknowledge, we still need to come up with a new name for at some point) to tie the overall story together a bit better.

Vera: The last OC I'll talk about here (or we'll be here forever otherwise) and the most recent OC I've created. I'm not too sure what inspired Vera if I'm quite honest. Or at least what specifically inspired her. It seems like she was inspired by all the 'Strong Woman' main characters in popular teenage fantasy fiction that I grew up reading and watching and that still persists to this day. Of course, since she's technically a background character, I doubt we'll see too many of the stereotypes associated with this kind of character, but you might see a few and I'll try to keep them to a minimum as I work out more of what she's actually about. Needless to say, I wanted a mirror to Meredith that stayed around Fangthane while everything was going down in the background of the campaign events. As a result she's suspicious, but didn't quite know the extent of what was going on until Merri showed back up in Fangthane and got herself caught.

[aquadestinyswriting]

A Circle None Can Break- Part Four

Summary: Selene has been left to brood in a cell beneath the Palace, in the dark no less. Edwin, in the meantime, has found someone to help him get into the prison.

Words: 2,443

Warnings: Some mild bad language and a teeny bit of animal cruelty. I don't think there's anything else. Let me know if I missed anything

tags: @druidx, @strosmkai-rum, @homesteadchronicles, @warriorbookworm, @odysseywritings, @asher-orion-writes

Selene strained to try and look around the cell she had been led to by the kingsguard. It was dry, at least, despite how far beneath the palace she must be. And the cot was comfortable enough to sit on, even if it was made purely for dwarves so she couldn't sleep comfortably on it. 

Shock had now given way to a smouldering, indignant anger, but the wizard tamped it down. There was little point in yelling, and she couldn't start lobbing fireballs around even if she so desperately wanted to. The wizard heaved a sigh,

"The least they could do is give me some light. Damn dwarves and their ability to see in the bloody dark." She muttered, closing her eyes and trying to listen to her surroundings instead. There was a distant rumble somewhere above her, the quiet, muffled conversation of the guards outside and a distant dripping sound that echoed off the walls of wherever the leak of water was. Selene shifted, the oppressive feeling of not just almost total darkness, the antimagic field and the mountain above weighing on her, but the fact that she had no idea what the guards had done with Chrackle. The two of them had never spent any time apart like this in the over twenty-seven years they had been with one another. Sure, they often spent several weeks so far apart that they could barely sense one another, but that was always by choice, and a strong enough empathic barrage could be sensed if either one of them was in any danger. Here, however, there was absolutely nothing. Not even the faintest trace of the magpie’s feelings reached her and the feeling was a disquieting one. Her mind flashed briefly to the moment Fai woke up without Mika and the look on his face. While she hoped her magpie yet lived, she wondered if her fellow wizard had felt the same way she did now upon realising that his familiar was gone. 

How long she spent brooding over her predicament, Selene didn’t know. All she knew was that the next thing she was properly aware of was muffled yelling outside the door to her cell. She automatically tried to look in that direction, only for the door to be slammed open and a flash of grass-green light to suddenly light up her surroundings. Selene swore loudly in several languages, shielding her eyes, only stopping when she heard a blessedly familiar voice from the direction of the door,

“Oh by the- I’m so sorry Sel. If I’d known they’d kept you in the dark down here, I would have said something.” Selene pried her arm away from her face as the light died down and blinked away the spots in her vision. Silhouetted in the doorframe, like some sort of avenging angel, was the form of her fellow human. Poking a head in from one side was what was clearly an unarmoured dwarf, though Selene did not know who.

“Right, what idiot left the human, the folk that canna see in the dark, without a light source?” the dwarf demanded. Another voice muttered something Selene couldn’t quite hear. The dwarf in the doorway huffed irritably,

“Aye, well, ye’d better go get one then, hadn’t ye?” he stated firmly. 

“And where, may I ask, is the magpie?” Edwin asked, his voice light enough, but Selene could tell that the man was only just barely containing his anger. There was more muffled talking, then the hurried sound of footsteps running off to another part of the dungeon. Edwin sighed,

“Haneskeeper, the antimagic field, if you would?” He said, “While I’m sure we’ll get plenty of complaints from His Majesty later, it really isn’t necessary. Besides, the incoming Glowstone won’t work if it’s active.” The dwarf nodded and waved his hand, muttering an incantation in one of the few languages Selene wasn’t familiar with. She smiled as she felt the rush of magic around her again as the antimagic field was dispelled. 

“Thank you, gentlemen. I must admit, I wasn’t expecting a prison break quite this quickly. Or is my sense of how long I’ve been in here completely off-kilter?” Haneskeeper made a noise in his throat,

“I wouldn’t exactly call it a prison break, lass. Yon Abouna here was just bein’ very insistent on gettin’ to see ye afore you got questioned.”

“One of the privileges of actually being on the Council.” Edwin stated smoothly, taking the glowstone that was hastily handed to him and walking into the cell. The guard mumbled and fidgeted,

“Abouna, I must request that ye replace the antimagic field.” he said uncomfortably, “His Majesty-” Edwin turned to glare at the unfortunate man,

“I’m sure His Majesty will completely understand that, as a High Priest and a member of the Council of Fangthane, I am merely exercising my right to maintain my connection with Galana while I provide counsel to the prisoner.” 

“Aye, but-” the guard stammered, gulping as Edwin’s glare deepened and the wood of his staff creaked ominously,

“Don’t you have a magpie to find?” he asked, a note of terseness finally making its way into his voice. The guard paled under his beard, saluted and scurried off. Selene shook her head as Edwin turned back to her,

“Apparently dwarven memories aren’t quite so long as they like to think. You’d think they would have remembered what happened the last time they pissed you off this much.” 

“Oh, we remember, lass.” Haneskeeper piped up, leaning against the doorframe and watching where the guard was going, “It’s just that the current contingent o’ kingsguard weren’t around to witness it the last time.” he pointed out. Edwin whooshed out a breath, calming himself down,

“Right then. First thing, are you alright?” he asked, looking the wizard over with a critical gaze. Selene nodded,

“Aside from being absolutely starving, stiff and tired, I’m fine.” she replied, “I feel much better now I can sense the magic around me again.” Edwin’s eyes narrowed,

“So the next duty for the guard when he gets back is to get you some food and water.” he muttered, “You have any idea how long you’ve been down here?” he asked. Selene shook her head,

“No clue.” she admitted, “Could only be a couple of hours, could be a week as far as I know. It’s a bit hard to tell when I’m cut off from all my connections to the world.” Edwin’s staff creaked again as he shook his head,

“It’s still the same day you arrived, so it’s probably only been about five, or six hours at most.” he said. “Ok, next question, can you get a bead on how Chrackle’s feeling?” Selene closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, then shook her head,

“They must have him in an antimagic cage.” she said, “I still can’t sense where he is or how he’s feeling. Most likely absolutely beside himself with fear and panic. That’s assuming the stress didn’t outright kill him.” she added, her own eyes narrowing at the thought. Edwin laid a hand on her shoulder, a soft green light emanating from it as he did,

“It’s alright, Selene. I’ll deal with it, no matter what kind of state he’s in.” he assured her, “I’m not letting you leave this cell without him.” Selene’s shoulders relaxed as the Calm Emotions spell washed over her. She sent the cleric in front of her a smile,

“Thanks Edwin, that means a lot.” she said. 

“Well, good news, the bird looks like he’s still livin’.” Haneskeeper said, watching as the guard came back with a large bird cage containing a still-hooded magpie. The old dwarf frowned as he noticed that the bird’s beak still appeared to be bound. He raised his eyebrows as the guard approached him, saying nothing as the barely more than a beardling slunk past him and entered the cell.  

Selene, who had, at first been overjoyed by Haneskeeper’s words, glared at the guard the moment she saw the state her beloved familiar was in. The magpie was still wearing the falconer’s hood she’d seen on him earlier and the too-tight leather thong was still wrapped firmly around his beak. While his wings and legs were now free, the wizard could now make out the rope burns on exposed skin and the missing pinion feathers from where Chrackle had clearly tried to free himself. One of his wings was also hanging limply by his side. Before she could even register everything, she felt a massive surge of power around Edwin. She glanced at him and quickly backed off as much as she was able. All the wood in the vicinity around the cell groaned and cracked, thorns erupting from almost every inch of wood that was in range. The earth rumbled as large vines, covered in thorns sprouted from the ground and whipped the cage from the guard’s hands. The guard yelped and jumped back,

“What the hells?” he asked, voice quavering as he continued backing away from the incensed cleric. Selene, who could now look at the situation with magical eyes, simply stared at the vortex of magic around her old friend,

“I think you pissed Galana off.” she said, her voice filled with the awe of seeing what it truly meant for a cleric to be a conduit of their god’s will. Haneskeeper, for his part, watched with interest, pulling out a pipe and baccy pouch,

“Yup. There She goes. I dunno what ye expected, lad. The Lady o’ the Garden loves animals as much as She does plants. I dinna ken what ye expected, honestly.” The guard whimpered as the vines ripped the cage apart and gently cradled the bird, letting the ruined pieces of metal fall to the floor of the cell with a clatter. Then, with a gentleness that would not be expected from an eruption of power so violent, the vines gently teased the hood off the magpie’s head and cut through the leather around his beak. Chrackle croaked wearily as the vines gently handed the injured bird to Edwin and retreated back into the earth. Selene swallowed thickly as she finally started to feel Chrackle’s emotions again,

~It’s all right, Chrackle, we’ve got you. Edwin’s going to heal you right up.~

~Mistress? I’m sorry. Tried to warn you-~

~Shh, shh. Don’t worry about it. We’ll talk about it when you’re feeling better.~

~Couldn’t sense you. I was so worried. Thought you’d gotten killed.~  the magpie rambled. Selene simply concentrated on sending calm thoughts and emotions to the distraught bird while Edwin stroked him, his hands both glowing with a green-blue light as he healed the physical hurts Chrackle had endured. Edwin looked to Selene as Chrackle relaxed in his arms. The wizard nodded,

“Sleeping.” she said quietly, taking a hold of her familiar and holding him as close to her as possible while Edwin rounded on the unfortunate guard who had happened to be on duty,

“I want to see both His Majesty and Captain Bloodvein down here in the next ten minutes.” he growled. The guard gulped and nodded, skittering out of the cell as fast as his legs could carry him. Edwin huffed a sigh and sat heavily on the floor of the cell, running a hand through his hair,

“Sorry about this, Haneskeeper. It would seem that Galana wanted to expedite the process the moment I saw Chrackle.” he said. Haneskeeper shrugged, taking a puff of his pipe and coming into the cell to sit next to him,

“Ah, well, His Nibs can’t do anythin’ about it. He kens fine well that ye don’t argue with the Gods. I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up with about half the other High Priests in here in a bit.” he noted. Edwin grimaced,

“Which then begs the question; what members of the Council wanted Selene to be arrested in the first place?”

~*~

High Inquisitor Skalrd Firetome grumbled, sending the messenger on her way with an irritated wave of his hand. He had been this close- this close- to removing the biggest standing obstacle to his plans and the Galanite cur just had to go and ruin it! He leaned back in his seat, running a hand down his fiery red beard, thinking. Ok, so he couldn’t get the wizard ejected from the mountain right this moment, but that didn’t mean that he was entirely out of options. One of his ‘messengers’ currently stationed in Toreguarde had mentioned overhearing that the Grand Magus had found something to help her, but that it required knowledge of an ancient and holy artefact. If he could find out what it was, maybe he could convince the more religious elements of the Council to throw her out on principle alone. Yes, that was probably the best option for now. If all else failed, he could arrange something within Toreguarde itself, but he didn’t want to have to spend the time and energy doing so if he didn’t have to. Perhaps a distraction closer to home was required to allow him the time to get those wheels into motion? Nodding to himself, Firetome pulled out a mirror from his vestments and cast over it, smiling at the hooded, human figure that appeared in it,

“Ah, Darkhide. I trust things are proceeding as you planned?” he asked lightly. The man on the other end of the connection sniffed haughtily,

“About as well as can be expected when you’re working with kobolds.” he sighed, “What do you want?” 

“Just makin’ sure ye were still on board. I need those kobolds riled up as a distraction. Somethin’s come up that’s scuppered the original plan.” Darkhide snorted, amused,

“Let me guess? The one human that lives there has decided he needs to intervene?” he surmised, “Very well, my own plans down here aren’t quite done, but I’m sure I can come up with something.” he sighed. Firetome’s smile widened,

“Much appreciated.” he said, quickly closing the connection at the sound of someone knocking on the door to his office. He made sure the mirror was safely tucked away before acknowledging the person on the other side. High Priest Ragnarsson’s head popped around the door,

“Sorry to disturb ye, Yer Eminence, but a full Council meetin’s been called.” Firetome nodded,

“I’ll be right there, I just need to get some paperwork finished.” he said, waving the other dwarf off. Ragnarsson bowed briefly and left, closing the door behind him. Firetome huffed another sigh. There was always something. Oh well, time to try and see what Council members he could influence before the wizard opened her mouth.

[aquadestinyswriting]

A Circle None Can Break: Part Two

Summary: Selene arrives in Fangthane, only to find that she might not be as welcome as she thought.

Words: 2,465

Warnings: animal cruelty is the biggest thing I'm worried about in here. The rest is (relatively emotionally) harmless

tags: @druidx, @strosmkai-rum, @homesteadchronicles, @warriorbookworm

Edwin could not help the falter in his smile as his former adventuring partner stepped through the portal and into the comparatively small hall in the depths of the Cathedral of Kherillim. While it had been well over ten years since he had last been in Selene’s company, he had not expected her to have changed so drastically. Gone was the nervous and shy, but excitable young woman he knew. In her place was a calm yet stern near middle aged woman, carrying herself with the confidence of someone who had a lot of power at their disposal and knew exactly how to wield it.

Edwin waited a moment for Selene to gather her bearings before stepping forward, his arms spread out in welcome,

“It has been far, far too long my friend.” he called. Selene’s stern expression melted into a genuinely happy smile as she turned her head in the Cleric’s direction. She beamed at her fellow human and hugged him tightly,

“It has.” she agreed, “Gods, I can’t believe it’s been more than ten years already.” she stepped back and looked Edwin over, “I see that the life of a High Priest has agreed with you.” she noted. Edwin chuckled and patted his stomach,

“Yes, well, good dwarven food and ale and a relatively sedentary job will do that.” Edwin took the opportunity to look Selene over in turn,

“I can’t imagine that being the Grand Magus of a burgeoning city state is good for the stress levels.” he said, nodding to the prominent streak of white at the wizard’s temple. Selene sighed and ran a hand along it,

“To be fair, it’s not the politics so much as dodging all the assassination attempts. I fear I painted a rather large and prominent target on my back when I took up the position.” Edwin’s brow furrowed as Selene waved a hand at her bag, allowing it to levitate towards her,

“While they have, thus far, been clearly unsuccessful, I am a little concerned about your lack of said concern.” he said. Selene huffed a slightly irritated sigh,

“Well, considering the Council of Toreguarde forbade us from hunting down the remnants of the Cabal, I’m hardly surprised that the ones that managed to escape the Demon War have a general problem with my continued existence.” she pointed out. Edwin hummed. He had, of course, heard about the Edict and the issues it had caused for the Heroes that had remained in Toreguarde. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the arrival of several Kingsguard and Moradhir paladins. The lead soldier saluted,

“Lieutenant Jorgen Stormbreaker, here to escort the Lady Frigidwake to her quarters afore her meeting with His Majesty and the Head Librarian.” he stated brusquely. Selene bowed to the heavily armoured dwarf in front of her and sent Edwin an apologetic smile,

“Sorry Edwin, looks like duty calls. I can catch up with you over a drink after?” Edwin nodded, forcing a smile onto his face,

“Of course, I’d best get back to the temple and finish up my own duties for the day.” he said, “I’ll meet you in the Hammer and Anvil later.” He waited and watched as Selene was quickly surrounded by dwarves and marched out of the Cathedral, the smile falling from his lips as soon as she was out of sight. Clearly His Majesty wanted to hear what Selene had to say as quickly as possible so that he could shoo her out door again before she brought any more trouble to the mountain. 

“And here I was hoping to get a chance to properly catch up.” he muttered, running a hand down his beard and shaking his head. Edwin quickly recalled himself and smoothed out his robes before striding out of the Cathedral and back to his own temple.

~*~

Selene frowned as she was quickly bundled into a waiting carriage at the bottom of the stairs to the cathedral. The stares of many of the dwarves going about their lives unnerved her. There was something about the way that mothers had held their children a little closer once they had caught sight of the human woman in their midst. The longbeards were worse, tutting and sighing, with several outright glaring at the wizard, though none of them said anything directly to her. Selene looked over to the Kingsguard sitting opposite her as the door to the carriage was closed and it rattled off down the street,

“I must admit, that it’s nice to visit your fine city once more, Lieutenant.” she said lightly, “I never got the chance to see much of it the last time I was here.” The dwarf snorted,

“Given that we were at war, that’s hardly surprising.” he stated, “As fer this visit, I’m afraid ye’ll be limited to visiting areas that have been pre-approved by His Majesty and the Council.” Selene frowned,

“I will, of course, respect the wishes of His Majesty and the Council, but may I enquire as to why?” Stormbreaker jerked his head to the window of the carriage, the many clasps in his bear glinting at the motion,

“We had a few attempted assassinations of His Majesty and other esteemed personages several months back.” he grunted, “The restrictions are merely a security precaution." Selene nodded, turning her attention to the scenery outside the window next to her. She grimaced; there was more to all this than simple security measures. The hostility of the common folk towards her mere presence pointed to a distrust that ran deeper than a few outsiders attempting to assassinate their king. 

The wizard was jolted from her thoughts by the carriage jerking to a stop. 

"A page will get yer bags, Grand Magus. If ye'll follow me, I'll escort ye to yer room afore we meet with His Majesty." Selene blinked. She could have sworn the journey to the palace should have been longer than this. She looked to the kingsguard, who was holding the door open for her,

"Please, lieutenant, it's just Selene. Or, if we absolutely must lean on formalities, Lady Frigidwake will do." She sighed, gripping onto the handle of the door as she gingerly stepped out of the carriage. Stormbreaker sent the human woman a puzzled look,

"As ye wish, my lady. However, I was under the impression that ye were visiting on official business by order of the Toreguarde Council. Was I mistaken?" Selene shook her head,

"The Toreguarde Council did not send me, lieutenant. I am here of my own volition." The expression on the kingsguard's face fell from surprise into a suspicious frown,

"Are ye now?" He muttered, more to himself than to the perplexed wizard in front of him. He shook his head, causing the clasps in his beard to jangle, "Might as well get ye in and settled then." He grumbled, gesturing for Selene to follow. 

~Chrackle, you’ve already been here a couple of days. Has the behaviour of the people here struck you as odd?~ she asked, aware that her familiar was following her through the mountain city. She felt the magpie’s consternation,

~It wasn’t obvious until you actually showed up.~ the magpie replied, ~But I’ve been hearing rumours in some of the taverns I’ve managed to sneak into.~

~What kind of rumours?~

~Mostly that the people running Toreguarde aren’t being sincere about their overtures of friendship. There are a couple going ‘round about the Toreguarde Council trying to strong-arm the Fangthane Council into agreeing to some ridiculous demand or other by sending Cabali agents to assassinate the king and/or his family. There was even one idiot that said the whole city was under the sway of the Demons already. He was really, very drunk though, so I’m not sure anyone actually believed him.~ Selene narrowed her eyes at the dwarven man in front of her as she followed him through the corridors of Namurkil Palace,

~Thanks Chrackle. If you can, keep out of sight and keep an ear out on the local gossip now that I’m here. I want to know exactly what it is I’m dealing with.~ She felt the magpie bob his head,

~Naturally. Don’t go doing anything stupid, though. As much as they don’t like us right now, we need their help.~

~I’ll be careful. Hopefully, this won’t take very long and we can start trying to rebuild some sort of trust again.~ Selene dropped the connection with her familiar just as Stormbreaker stopped in front of a door,

“Right then, hopefully yer lodgin’s are to yer liking. I’ll pop off and let His Majesty ken ye’ve arrived and I’ll come back to collect ye when he’s ready to see ye.” He handed Selene a heavy iron key and nodded to two other kingsguard, who saluted and took up positions on either side of the door. Selene nodded gratefully to the heavily armoured dwarf,

“Thank you, lieutenant. I’m sure the room is more than adequate.” she told him, inclining her head in a short bow. Stormbreaker smiled, saluted and marched off down the hall, his tromping steps echoing off the stone walls and ceiling. Selene watched him for a moment before turning to the door in front of her and pushing it open. 

The apartment was well-furnished, with finely woven tapestries hung on all the walls to keep the chill out, a large fireplace immediately in front of the door, which already had a fire burning merrily within it and a large sofa with several plush cushions and pillows. Selene noted the large writing desk set off to one side, with a large glowstone sat on one corner. A pile of parchment was placed on top along with what appeared to be at least two pots of ink and a clay pot filled with several quills. Around a corner was a large, human-sized, four-poster bed with curtains hung on rails on all sides. The bedside table was stacked with books and there seemed to be a door leading to what Selene presumed was a water closet. All in all, a functional space for her to spend her time. 

Selene closed the door behind her as she entered, gingerly testing the magical weave in the room with a simple Light spell. She frowned as magic tried to weave itself together, only to gutter out before it could complete. Some runes etched into the walls, previously invisible, flared briefly to life as the magic was suppressed, unmaking the spell the wizard had cast. Selene tutted,

“Disappointing, but ultimately not surprising.” she muttered. Arcane casters had never been popular in Fangthane; that much had been apparent the last time she was here, even if she hadn’t been prevented from using her spells at the time. If the rumours about Caballi assassins were accurate, then it made sense to prevent the use of it in the home of the royal family. It did, however, make things a lot more difficult than they needed to be. 

Huffing an irritated sigh, Selene flomped onto the sofa, not bothering to take her travel cloak off, only now realising that her bags hadn’t arrived yet  and that she’d left her staff in the carriage. She tilted her head back with an annoyed groan,

“So what’s the third thing going to be then, you nieking bastard?” she called up to the ceiling, glaring at it. Not that the wizard expected an answer, especially not from Him. Selene settled for grumbling to herself while she waited for Lieutenant Stormbreaker to come back, hoping against hope that Chrackle was having better luck than she was.

~*~

Chrackle soared above the streets of Fangthane, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. As much as he was sure the general populace wouldn’t bat an eye at his presence, he was still unnerved by how much hostility his mistress had been shown. He fluttered onto the roof of a tavern, eyes pinning as he watched the people below coming and going and generally going about their lives. He cocked his head as a young female dwarf, wearing clerical vestments exited the tavern and leaned against the wall with a frustrated groan. While he was not nearly as familiar with divine magic as he was with the arcane, he could still sense the pull of power around her. Intrigued, Chrackle fluttered down to perch on the sign of the tavern. The dwarf below him pulled out a holy symbol and huffed a sigh,

“I’d have had better luck tryin’ to convince His Nibs to sell the all the gold in the mount.” she muttered. She pushed off from the wall and started making her way down the street, still muttering darkly to herself. Chrackle cocked his head to one side, then the other as he watched the girl leave. To have that much power in one so young; it reminded him of his mistress. Making up his mind, Chrackle made ready to follow the girl.

“There it is! Get it!” a voice suddenly called out from his right. Chrackle spun his head around, squawking as he noticed two dwarves wearing what looked like ironguard armour running up to the tavern, nets held in their hands. Immediately, the magpie took flight, dashing madly up towards the air vents.

“Hurry up! We canna let it get away!” Chrackle felt the movement of a net being thrown at him. He quickly banked left, narrowly avoiding it, only to fly straight into a second. Panic gripped the bird, what were they going to do with him? He was too far away from his mistress to pull on the connection between them to cast anything! Chrackle screamed as he fell from the air, landing heavily at the feet of one of the heavily armoured dwarves. He cackled madly, trying desperately to free his wings. A gauntleted hand reached out and grabbed him, twisting a wing to a painful angle. Chrackle pecked madly at the offending appendage,

“Get off! Get off!” he screeched, “Hurting!” The dwarf that had picked him up snorted,

“Well, that confirms it.” he said to his companion, “Looks like the tipoff we got that the wizard was sent here as a spy was right. Get that hood on and tie up its wings. And for Moradin’s sake, get it to shut up!” Chrackle continued to flail uselessly as a leather hood was placed over his head and a leather thong wrapped firmly around his beak, clamping it shut. Unable to see or hear anything, Chrackle’s instincts forced him to go limp, allowing his wings to be folded firmly against his body. Unable to do anything else, Chrackle did the only thing he could; send as strong an empathic barrage to his mistress in the vain hope that she would notice something was amiss.

[aquadestinyswriting]

A Circle None Can Break- Part One

Summary: Edwin is trying to get a little time to wind down for the day, only to have his me-time interrupted by a most unexpected visitor.

Words: 2,339

Warnings: None. Edwin is a good boy.

tags: @druidx, @strosmkai-rum, @homesteadchronicles, @warriorbookworm

While Spring had finally sprung in the Frostholme region, winter still clung to the peaks and other elevated places. Luckily, the mountain of Fangthane was spared of most of the frost and ice, and the sheltered ledge outside the Temple of Galana was bathed in warm sunshine. A hidden door carved into the rock slid open to reveal a human man with a well-kept brown beard wearing the vestments identifying him as the Abouna, or High Priest, of Galana. He walked out into the sun and wandered over to the centre of the little glade, where a small apple tree, barely beginning to mature, was growing.

Edwin sighed, it had been a long and stressful day already, and the cleric was exhausted. A face appeared in the bark as the human bowed in greeting and placed a stool in front of it.

“Good Father Edwin, it is very good to see thee again after these many days.” The priest sighed as he ran his hand down his face,

“It had indeed been far too long Granny.” He agreed, “There have been a great many things to deal with as of late. The Council has been very busy.” The tree rustled her leaves in sympathy,

“Thou dost look tired.” She noted, “Is there anything thou wishes to, as you say, rant about?” she asked. Edwin laughed a little at Granny’s wording,

“There is not really much to rant over that I have not already spoken off, but the offer is appreciated nonetheless.” Granny nodded as much as she was able,

“Still thou art troubled.” She pointed out. Edwin sighed again and shook his head,

“I still believe that the recent edict to prevent the people of Fangthane from travelling to Toreguarde is, at best, incredibly foolish, and at worst will be seen as insulting.” He said, “The King, however, is a very recalcitrant dwarf and is not one to change his mind easily.” The little tree was about to ask the cleric to elucidate when both of their thoughts were interrupted by an indignant squawk. Edwin looked up to see a magpie land on the ground in front of him, its head cocking from one side to the other as it regarded him.

Edwin frowned, the creature seemed familiar somehow. When he did not acknowledge it after several long moments, the magpie gave another squawk, sounding almost offended as it pecked at his boot. When Edwin still didn’t seem to recognise it, the bird finally seemed to roll its eyes and lifted its leg, showing a roll of parchment that had been attached to it. Granny Apple chuckled,

“T’would seem that thou hast offended an old friend.” She noted. Edwin frowned as he took the parchment from the magpie’s leg, allowing the bird to finally flutter up into the branches of the apple tree, sending Edwin what he was sure was an angry glare. The bird shook itself and chuckled quietly to itself, turning its back on the cleric. Shaking his head, Edwin inspected the seal, only to almost drop the letter in surprise. He looked back up at the indignant magpie, who was cleaning his beak on one of Granny’s branches,

“I don’t have anything shiny on me, but will something to eat be enough for an apology Chrackle?” he asked, pulling out a small handful of sunflower seeds from his pocket. The bird glanced in his direction, but simply ruffled its feathers and stuck its beak up in the air. Edwin gave a frustrated sigh, 

“Look, I’m sorry, but it’s been almost ten years and we get a lot of flocks of ravens and magpies up here in the summer.” When that still didn’t work, the High Priest of Galana finally gave in, “Alright, fine, if I give you a few coins to add to your collection will you cooperate?” he asked. The magpie turned around with a hop, and gave the nature priest a look that suggested ‘That’s a start.’ Chrackle gently tapped his beak on Granny’s branch as a farewell gesture and flew onto Edwin’s shoulder, digging his claws in just a little too hard to make a final point. Granny laughed as Edwin turned back to her,

“It would seem that thou hast finally made thy point.” She told the magpie, “But thou must behave thyself, or thou might not receiveth the gift Father Goodwin hast promised.” She chastised. Chrackle bobbed his head and settled down quietly upon the cleric’s shoulder. Edwin gave a quiet sigh as he bowed to Granny again,

“My most sincere apologies, Granny Apple, but it would seem my work is not yet done.” He said apologetically. Granny Apple smiled at him,

“Thou must not worry, I understand.” She said, “Go and speak with thy friend.” She added, settling down to speak with the songbirds that were nesting in her branches. Edwin nodded and finally turned to make his way back to the inner sanctum of the temple, absentmindedly giving Chrackle a couple of sunflower seeds as he did so.

Once he was back inside, Edwin let Chrackle flutter over to perch on a nearby root as he looked at the wax seal on the parchment roll again with a frown,

“Not the Toreguard Council seal Selene?” he muttered, his concern growing as he finally broke it and opened the letter.

Dearest Edwin,

I hope this letter finds you well and that Chrackle behaves himself when he arrives. Unfortunately, circumstances demand that I cannot reveal why I need to contact you in this manner. I am taking a short holiday from my responsibilities, and am spending it in a location outside of Toreguarde. Please contact me at the Daffodil Field as soon as you receive this note. It is of the utmost importance.

Best wishes

Selene Frigidwake

Grand Magus and Chief Librarian of Toreguarde.

Edwin frowned as he re-read the letter,

“Daffodil Field?” he wondered aloud, wracking his brain as to what Selene could possibly mean by the phrase. After several long moments, Chrackle chuckled, getting the cleric’s attention before he sat up and croaked,

“Tower! Tower!” Edwin mentally slapped himself,

“Of course!” he groaned. He nodded to the bird and made his way over to the Scrying Pool, “Thank you Chrackle.” He said, before casting over the still waters. The magpie chuckled happily and ruffled his feathers,

“Welcome!” he croaked, looking really rather pleased with himself. Edwin shook his head with a small smile as the water in the pool swirled for a few moments before it revealed the cosy interior of what seemed to be a rather extensive Wizard’s Library. After a moment, a rather older looking woman than Edwin remembered with curled auburn hair and bright green eyes grinned at him,

“Edwin!” Selene greeted happily, “So Chrackle managed to find you alright, I was getting a bit worried.” At these words, Chrackle gave a loud, very indignant squawk. Selene frowned when she heard it, 

“Oh don’t give me that! You got so distracted when I sent you to find our contact near Mythrilmar it’s a wonder the message ever got delivered!” she snapped. The magpie chuckled angrily and stuck its beak in the air. Selene sighed and shook her head,

“Sorry Edwin, he’s been giving a lot of backchat lately.” She apologised. Edwin laughed,

“It’s nice to see that at least some of the little things haven’t changed.” He noted with amusement. His face fell into a more worried expression a moment later, “So what’s the problem and why did you need me to contact you at Yastromo’s Tower?”  he asked. Selene’s expression fell and she suddenly looked as though she’d aged another ten years,

“Basically, if I tried to contact you from Toreguarde, too many questions would start getting asked.” She replied with a heavy sigh, “The Chancellor, Reginald Schreiber, is a man that follows more of the letter than the spirit of the Edict. It’s proven to be very difficult to work around him so I can actually do my job as a member of Toreguarde’s Triumvirate.” Selene’s lips pursed, as though even talking about the man left a sour taste in her mouth. Edwin cocked his head a little, a confused frown settling on his own face as he considered his old friend’s words,

“Why would you need to work around the letter of the Edict?” he asked, perplexed, “Surely there’s nothing in there that would stop you from doing what’s necessary to protect the city?” Selene sighed and played with the end of her hair,

“This is not something that any of the Council wants word to get out about.” She finally said, “But the seal that the Diva put over the portal to the Abyss… well it’s failing.” The Wizard said flatly. Edwin paled as he took in what his old friend had just said,

“Failing?” he asked, “How…?” Selene shook her head,

“I don’t know.” She admitted, “I’ve been spending the better part of the last two and a half weeks trying to figure it out and how to fix it.” The woman ran her hand down her face, “The problem is that the case with Toreguarde is a unique one, so any records about portals to the Hells and Abyss are not really of any help.”

“Surely the Drakemarie Empire would give you any and all resources to find something to help?” Edwin said, “I mean, you were Yastromo’s apprentice, that’s not something they can argue with.” He pointed out. Selene shook her head,

“That just means I’m a bigger potential threat.” She countered, “Mainly because I think I might have found something that can help, but I need to speak with the Fangthane Council.” Edwin blinked in consternation, taking in what Selene had just said,

“Wait…what?” he asked, “Why would you need to speak with the Fangthane Council if you think you’ve found a solution?” Selene gave the Galana cleric a lop-sided smile,

“Because to pull it off I’ll need a dwarf. A Cleric capable of Shaping to be more precise.” She replied, waving off a teapot that was clearly trying to get her attention. Edwin frowned in confusion,

“But a dwarf from Fangthane specifically?” he asked, “Surely there are plenty of dwarves living outside the mountain that can help?” Selene shook her head firmly,

“Look, I can’t really explain it properly like this.” She said, “I know that things in Fangthane are difficult…”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Edwin grumbled, but Selene carried on,

“... but I need to speak to the Council there.” She finished. She sent the cleric a desperate look, “Please Edwin, you know I wouldn’t be asking unless it was important.” Finally, Edwin sighed,

“I’ll try, but I cannot guarantee that they’ll want to see you.” He said. Selene nodded with a grateful smile,

“That’s really all I can ask.” She replied, “Thank you Edwin.” The cleric waved his hand dismissively,

“Well, seeing as the future of Allansia, if not Titan, is at stake yet again, I can hardly say no.” he said with an amused smirk. Selene laughed,

“True enough, I probably should have tried harder to get the Council to rename the city Target like Ivan suggested.” Edwin smirked,

“I’m sure that would have gone down well with the people living there now. Look, how long will you be at the Tower?” he asked. Selene gently pushed a sugar bowl away from her scrying pool,

“Another two weeks. The rest of the Wizard’s Council know what’s going on, as do the General, the Chancellor and the Emissary. We’ve been trying to downplay the situation to the rest of the population so we don’t cause a mass panic.” A thought suddenly occurred to Edwin. He narrowed his eyes,

“Does anyone, other than me, know where you are, or what you’ve found out?” he asked quickly. Selene shook her head,

“No. I’ve adapted an old cipher that Fai and I used to communicate with each other while he was in Wyrmholme to make my notes, and Yastromo made sure that not even Zharadan Marr could work out exactly where the tower was.” She replied quickly. Edwin nodded, though he was not entirely happy with the situation,

“If I do get you permission to come to Fangthane, ‘port out as far away from the tower as you can manage.” Selene rolled her eyes,

“Yes father.” She replied sarcastically. Edwin gave her a warning glare,

“I mean it Selene!” He growled, “If you think you might be in any danger whatsoever from what you’ve found out, then I want you to take every precaution available to you.” Chrackle cackled his apparent agreement, fluttering down from his perch to land on the edge of Edwin’s scrying pool to give his wizard a hard glare. Selene sighed and shook her head,

“Alright, alright.” She said, putting her hands up in a placating manner, “There’s a town nearby that I can Teleport out from. Just… let me know one way or the other and sooner rather than later, yeah?” Edwin nodded, a relieved smile on his face,

“Of course. I’ll go and meet with at least King Storri and Archlector Vanskleig tomorrow morning.” He said, “Just… lay low and try not to get into any trouble.”

“Edwin, surely you know me better than that.” Selene clucked, “I’m not Fai.” She added. Edwin smiled more broadly,

“No, you’re not.” He agreed, “I’ll be in contact again tomorrow.” He said, waving his hand over the scrying pool. Selene nodded in satisfaction,

“Good, and Chrackle?” she called, causing the bird to cock its head to one side, “Behave yourself.” She warned just as the water within the pool swirled once more and cleared to reveal the bottom of the bowl. The magpie squawked indignantly and swooped back over to the root he was using as his temporary home. Edwin chuckled quietly to himself,

“The more things change.” He muttered with amusement as he finally made his way back into the main vestibule of the temple, leaving Selene’s familiar to sulk.

[aquadestinyswriting]

I was tagged by the ever-lovely @druidx to complete a writing exercise from this post; specifically the Paint a picture of a character by describing their bedroom exercise.

Tagging in @davycoquette as requested and also @ashirisu, @lexiklecksi and @sparrow-orion-writes as I think you guys will be interested in seeing this.

Situated in a pocket dimension leading off from the office space at the very top of the Wizard's tower, the bedroom of Selene Frigidwake paints a far more personable picture of the Grand Magus of Toreguarde than her office might suggest. As soon as the door is opened, you are hit with a wash of ozone with a faint whiff of sulphur and petrichor. You might even see some down and shed pinion feathers drift towards your feet, depending on if the maid has been by to clean yet. The space inside the door seems noticeably larger than it ought to be, given the dimensions of the tower from the outside, and incredibly well-lit. There is a constant low-level hum at the threshold, which ceases the moment it is crossed and the air within is charged with magical static. The whole room, much like the office it is attached to thrums with arcane power. Those who have the ability to see into the magical weave may be able to discern the various arcane locks and traps inlaid into the door and floor, and only those with the keenest senses can detect the other, more mundane traps which have been hidden in amongst the lock and hinges.

Directly ahead of the door sits a large, polished mahogany four-poster bed with curtain rails, upon which are alighted heavy, velvet curtains in a deep blue colour, tied back with purple, silk rope. Despite the clutter that litters the rest of the room, the bedsheets are neatly arranged and the comforter folded to sit along the bottom of the mattress. The goose feather pillows are plumped and set accordingly and the cushions that were 'donated' by the tower's staff are artfully arranged atop them.

The bedside cabinets have a drawer and a small cupboard each, all of which have locks. The top of the left hand table is stacked high with a handful of books, alongside a pitcher and glass; the glass contains water that has been halfway drunk and left to sit. The right hand table is littered with various, small objects; pieces of copper wire, feathers from various species of bird, a pouch of silver powder. Basically, a bunch of spell components that have been dumped and half-forgotten.

Two small, gothic style windows are set into the back wall on either side of the bed, while a larger, circular window is set into the wall on the right, allowing sunlight to flood into the room during the day and affording a stunning view of the city at all times. A smaller, latched window is inset into this, and is usually kept open to allow for airflow and for Selene's familiar, Chrackle, to come and go as he pleases. Underneath the window is a small desk, covered in feathers and parchment with a large inkpot and a quill made from the tail feather of a magpie. The parchment is covered in notes and diagrams, mainly outlining various magical circles and equations, though some pieces of crumpled parchment appear to be letters; half-written and tossed carelessly aside.

On the left hand wall is a large, marble fireplace, with an ornate fireguard, all of which have been crafted by dwarven hands. Three brass, elven-crafted candle-holders sit atop the lintel of the fireplace, but the candles have never been lit. A large wingback chair upholstered in the same blue velvet as the curtains sits to one side of the fireplace, atop which lies a large, leather-bound book. On the other side of the fireplace is a floor to ceiling bookcase, filled with books on various arcane subject matters.

A large hat stand sits just behind the door as it swings inward, atop which is a messy cluster of sticks and various pieces of metal interwoven with one another. The nest is filled in with moss and down and various pieces of cutlery, coins of various denominations and other shiny objects are carefully placed within. Another door to the side of the hat stand leads to a small water closet, containing a toilet and sink, with a set of washcloths and towels set into a cabinet just behind the door. There is also enough room for a small, freestanding bathtub, that looks as though it has never been used.