Chapter 34: 34. Uneasy Portents

Excerpt from Master Eladri’s ‘Modern Magic - A Study of the Modern Mage.’

“It is a common misconception amongst students of Arcane magic that they alone hold the keys to shaping reality. Arcane magic prides itself on a forward-thinking, ever-evolving methodology that allows its practitioners to adapt to, and subsequently overcome, every obstacle in their path. However, it is a recurring blindspot of the average Arcane mage to believe that other magical traditions are somehow backwards or archaic in comparison. A true, modern mage needs to understand—old traditions continue not out of misguided nostalgia, but as a vessel to bear the secrets of magic itself.”

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Sergeant Myuu was not interested in the identities of those accompanying Eone—or Maya, as it were—though she did still perform a security sweep. The sergeant and another of her armoured associates carefully checked over Chime and the cargo piled up atop them, including cracking open each of the larger sealed crates and boxes to verify their contents. Yenna got a strange feeling that this was largely a formality, that the sergeant and crew knew that it would have to be something especially alarming to give them pause. Her strange feeling was confirmed when Myuu pulled a small wand from a waist pouch and began to wave it over the cargo—this iss all a performance.

Yenna knew immediately that it was a magic-detecting wand. They were really simple devices that could be configured to detect various types and intensities of magic, designed such that non-mages could easily search out dangerous spells and articles of malign artifice. The model that the sergeant was fervently waving around was meant to emit a sound or shake if something within its search parameters was detected—which it could never do, because the wand wasn’t even active. It was a thing most non-mages wouldn’t even notice, but it was about as useful a detector as any other twig off the ground. Yenna could tell due to the sergeant’s grip—she was subtly making an effort not to depress the tiny magic-bearing stone that powered the spell.

This meeting had been planned in advance, and the sergeant was obviously making theatre for her fellows—Yenna wondered how deep the secrecy ran, and who involved would be aware of what was transpiring. Then, it occurred to Yenna, why even bother? Were they actually carrying something that would be dangerous enough to cause a hold-up? She knew the boxes were all just food, clean water, camping supplies and personal belongings. In fact, the most magical item amongst the boxes would have to be Hirihiri’s cooking pot, and its small heating spell. However, there was one more magical item that wasn’t exclusively inside Yenna’s pack—the black book.

Demvya herself may have been enough to cause concern. A spirit, even a relatively benign one like Demvya, was a powerful and dangerous thing. Yenna didn’t know if there were any laws—in Aulpre or Milur—about simply travelling with spirits, but they could be used as weapons by less savoury sorts¹. Besides Demvya, the black book was far more concerning—though its odd nature made it hard to detect by magical means. This was all likely a precaution, Yenna told herself—if Sergeant Myuu detected either the spirit or the book, they would have to sit and endure formal scrutiny, and likely delay whatever important meeting awaited Eone even further.

Still, Yenna breathed a sigh of relief when it was all over. Somehow, it felt more worrying that it had been a performance—like she was suddenly involved in something far bigger than a simple customs check. Sergeant Myuu sent the other guards back to their positions and led the group to the elevator. She pulled a lever to open a massive metal gate, and Chime walked them all in.

It was positively uncanny how massive the elevator was inside, though Chime quickly filled the space. Curled around to fit within, Yenna couldn’t help but notice how the silupker almost perfectly filled the enormous crescent-moon pattern on the elevator’s floor. It was an interesting symbol, carefully and lovingly carved into the stone platform—the space not filled by this moon was dotted with innumerable tiny stars. It was honestly a gorgeous piece of art, but Yenna was distracted by another facet of the elevator—it was not enclosed, and both the mechanisms that lifted it and the entire shaft above were visible.

As she looked directly up, Yenna got a bit of vertigo. The shaft seemed to shrink into a tiny speck of light up above—presumably the exit on the other end—though it also tilted slightly towards the cliff wall. Blinking uncomfortably as she looked away from the top of the shaft, Yenna turned her attention to the walls. Spiralling grooves were built into the walls, which acted as guides for parts of the elevator platform to follow. The repeated series of runes etched into those grooves confirmed for the mage exactly what kind of elevator this was—and what a feat of engineering it was, to boot.

An ordinary elevator could be built by enchanting a platform to rise or fall on command. Usually kept within desired boundaries by physical guideposts, one simply had to make sure that it was moving at safe speeds and not tipping over. Larger, more complicated elevators used secondary spells to give more power to the lifting spell, and to slow descent on the way back down—in fact, the spiralling guide-grooves were there to ensure that even should the magic fail, the lift wouldn’t fall straight to the ground and would instead be forced to descend at a dangerous-but-not-fatal speed. The insides of the grooves on this elevator were coated in countless lift-empowering runes that could be activated or shut off remotely, while friction-increasing spells acted as a safety measure against falling down. The huge stone platform could have lifted Chime and several identical silupker all at the same time without even slowing down—it was a phenomenally robust and powerful thing.

All of that appreciation of arcane engineering made Yenna fail to notice that they had already reached the top. It wasn’t fast, but Yenna had barely noticed their movement—the ride was silky smooth, to boot. Emerging from the exit at the top of the elevator shaft, the crew finally arrived in the town of Hilbar, Milur. It was a lot smaller than Yenna was expecting.

In fact, Yenna could see half of it from this point alone. To the left was a large manor, built of sturdy blocks of brick almost like the fort at the bottom of the elevator, while straight ahead was a town square. To the right was an inn and a general store, shadowed by a squat tower with an odd glass-dome roof. As the group moved into the town square, Yenna could see a handful of simple cottages to the right, followed by a low wall that presaged the edge of the cliff. There weren’t a lot of people, and Yenna suspected that a majority of its inhabitants probably lived there to attend to whoever lived within the manor that dominated this place.

“I regret to inform you that your silupker associate may have to wait outside for the duration of your meeting.” Sergeant Myuu explained with another miniscule bow to Eone, “As you are likely aware, Miyomiyo awaits within the manor.”

Chime stated that they entirely understood—this was probably standard practice for the enormous silupker. Yenna quietly wondered if she could create a shrinking spell powerful enough to reduce Chime down to a size compatible with most buildings, narrowly bringing herself back to reality before she could become side-tracked by calculations.

“Of course, Sergeant.” Eone gave a nod, and ordered everyone off. “Chime, I shall endeavour to make this quick. Mayi, Jiin, Hirihiri, could you stay with Chime? Perhaps see if we can restock here.”

The three yolm nodded, and Chime jingled in agreement—they found themselves a place at the edge of the square to keep out of the way. Yenna went to ask a question, only to find herself beaten to the punch by Tirk—with the exact same query.

“What about me, Captain?” The boy glanced quickly between Eone, the sergeant and the manor behind them. “Can I come with you?”

The captain gave a huge grin. “Of course! I was going to bring you in to see moth– erm, Miyomiyo, of course.”

Yenna stood a little awkwardly—it had thrown her off to have Tirk ask the question, and now she felt slightly childish to ask to come along as well. She was saved by an unlikely source—Mysilia.

“Aren’t you going to bring your mage, captain?” Mysilia gave Yenna a rather withering look—the mage still wasn’t entirely sure what the mereu’s problem was with her, but they had barely talked the entire trip.

“Oh! Right, Yenna, I did want you on-board for this.” Eone gave a smile and a nod to Yenna, and a rather condescending pat on the head to Mysilia—the mereu put up a very convincing act of not enjoying the attention. “Sometimes these…farming talks get a bit complicated when it comes to the equipment involved. It slipped my mind to tell you.”

Yenna nodded—she had the feeling that Eone either hoped Yenna would intuit that she wanted the mage along, or hadn’t actually had any interest in bringing her inside in the first place. Despite her worries, Yenna put on a brave face—it was her job to help when it came to scholarly matters, after all.

All in all it was still a sizable party heading into the manor, with the remaining members of the crew wandering off to explore what little the town had to offer. Eone held Tirk’s hand while Mysilia perched on the captain’s shoulder, with Muut walking beside but slightly behind her. Trailing behind was the mage Yenna, and Narasanha. Yenna nearly jumped out of her caparison when the four-armed bodyguard appeared beside her—she was extremely good at just appearing.

“M-My, I didn’t notice you there,” Yenna attempted to make an excuse for her stifled squeal of surprise, “y-you really are quite stealthy.”

“You should be more observant. If you didn’t notice me when I wasn’t trying, you’ll be easy prey for those who are.” Narasanha’s voice was a low growl that sent shivers down Yenna’s spine. The woman was absolutely right, though it was still a chilling thought. Her amber eyes seemed to see right through Yenna, and it made the mage feel similar to a critter caught in a predator’s glare.

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Sergeant Myuu led them all into the manor, exchanging words with a couple of guards on the way in. For such a small, inaccessible border town, Yenna couldn’t help but notice an abundance of guards—she wondered if this was increased security, or if this was standard. The entrance to the manor was through a massive set of wooden doors—dark wood carved with brilliant skill to feature the same moon and stars motif as the elevator platform. Yenna mentally filed it away to do further research on—she couldn’t recall its exact meaning off the top of her head. Yenna was distracted momentarily watching Eone walk through the doorway—even the tall, wide doors forced the captain to bow her head slightly, or have her enormous horn get caught on the door frame. She stifled a laugh, and Narasanha glared at her—Yenna didn’t have high hopes for relaxing in the immediate future with such an escort.

The interior was gorgeous, in a style that was both vaguely familiar and beautifully exotic. Milur was a country known for its amazing craftsmanship, with a huge emphasis on the details involved in every little thing—this richly dressed entrance hall exemplified that. Dark wood made up the walls and floors, covered in rich blue and gold rugs that gave the entire room a cozy, dark feeling. Enchanted lights glowed behind cloudy glass sconces, and Yenna couldn’t help but notice that even those glass covers were carefully sculpted. Paintings and tapestries of unfamiliar historical figures and masterfully rendered landscapes dominated the free space of the walls—but none of the beauty of the room or its dressings could compare to the woman standing at its centre.

At the foot of the stairs leading up to a second floor stood a yolm woman, similar to Eone in appearance except for the severity of her expression. She was tall and muscularly built, with an unusual horn that jutted forward and split into two hooks at the end—it reminded Yenna of the insect beasts they had fought back in Sumhrell. In contrast to Eone’s comfortable, modest travelling garb, the older woman wore a gorgeous dress of fine black and silver silks accented tastefully with gold and silver chains. The more Yenna looked, the more jewellery she found—her ears were both pierced twice over with small clamps, a chain of finely-cut red rubies glittered around her neck, and her wrists jangled with several platinum bangles. Despite her fine dress, she was still armed—an elegant rapier with a gem-encrusted pommel rested in a scabbard at her hip that was so well matched to her dress that Yenna had barely noticed until she had finished looking the woman over.

After what felt like a peculiarly tense moment, the woman gestured for a few attendants that Yenna had failed to notice to leave.

“Mother!” Eone smiled brightly and stepped forward, arms extended—Mysilia carefully flitted off and sat herself on Muut’s head. “It’s been too long.”

“And who’s fault would that be? Come here, Eone.” The two embraced for a moment before stepping back. 

Eone whirled around, excitedly gesturing to the beautiful woman beside her. “Everyone, this is my mother, Aroearoe, head of House Deepstar.”

Muut sunk to one knee in respect, though he looked slightly ridiculous with Mysilia sat atop his head. Narasanha gave a slight bow, and Yenna—mentally kicking herself for not asking about the appropriate greeting—dipped down with her front legs into something of a curtsy. Tirk stood still, staring at Aroearoe, completely awestruck.

“Is this the boy you told me about?” Aroearoe looked down her nose at Tirk, and Yenna felt an immediate dislike towards her. Tirk continued to stare.

“He sure is! Tirk, say hello!” Eone leaned forward to get closer to the boy’s level, though she was far too tall for it to make much of a difference.

Tirk gave an awkward little bow and stared up at Eone’s mother. “My name is Tirk, of…of Yvild. It’s really nice to meet you.”

“Isn’t he just the sweetest?” The captain looked up at Aroearoe, grinning ear to ear—the woman returned a slight nod.

“Yes, quite. It’s good to see you, Muut. Mysilia. Stand—I hope my daughter hasn’t run you so ragged you can’t.”

Mysilia started to speak, but Muut grabbed her off of his head and stood. The mereu’s complaints were muffled by one of Muut’s fingers covering her mouth, though she quickly got the idea and stopped. The man did not offer a reply—Yenna guessed he wasn’t supposed to.

“These two.” Aroearoe gestured with a nod towards Narasanha and Yenna. “I’m going to assume your guard and your mage, yes? Didn’t you get trained well enough to defend yourself, daughter of mine?”

Eone gave an awkward chuckle, and it was odd to see the normally in-charge captain so thoroughly on the back foot.

“This is Narasanha, a warrior who has served me extremely well—as I have noted in my letters—and Yenna Bookbinder, an Aulprean mage who recently joined us.” Eone smiled at the two of them as they were introduced. “Anything you have to say to me can be said in their presence.”

Yenna felt a boost of confidence hearing the level of trust Eone held for her, though it was somewhat tempered by Aroearoe’s obvious disapproval. Still, the head of the House didn’t seem like a woman keen to waste time. Instead, she gestured towards a shaded corner—a person Yenna hadn’t noticed emerged.

They were a fair kesh, dressed head to hooves in deep blue robes covered in tiny white stars. Only the lower half of her face was visible—a white veil covered her eyes and nose.

“I am Suee, priestess of the moon and stars.” The woman’s voice was barely a whisper, and Yenna strained to hear. “I serve Head Aroearoe faithfully in matters of augury—it is my premonition that we have come to discuss.”

The kesh Suee turned her head to look at Aroearoe, and received a slight nod—along with the jingling of a platinum chain dangling from the twin tips of the yolm woman’s horn.

“I have been granted a vision by the grace of the moon.” Suee spoke so softly that Yenna wondered if she wasn’t trying to avoid being overheard. “A vision of dreadful war. A war painted in blood, waged for the dark purpose of vilest sorcery. A war that has already begun.”

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¹ - Spirit-binding as a form of magic is extremely varied, and dangerous for all involved—the spirit included. Spirit-binders either convince, coerce or directly control a spirit to do powerful, intuitive magic in the caster’s place. Even a small, weak spirit has a far greater understanding of the natural flow of magic than most mages, so rogue casters seeking a quick leg-up can use spirits as weapons to artificially increase their offensive power. As a result, spirit-binding is largely regulated in Aulpre—though not outright illegal.

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