516 days after a wizard cursed the REALM…
Current Version:
“There you are, Rose, and there you have always been, even when you thought you were elsewhere. Because as they say, wherever you go, there you are.” The Clockwork Witch throws back her head for a good hard laugh.
Dropping her head again reactivates the welding lenses, multiple circles of darkly tinted glass that fall into place in front of her eyes. The witch hums a happy tune as her dragonfire torch solders the Steampunk Faery into a Faery-shaped niche among the gears and dials.
“Me name is Shutterbug now,” the Faery dares to mutter.
The witch slams a hand on the workbench. “What did you say?”
“Mistress,” the Faery hastily adds. “Me name is Shutterbug now, Mistress.”
The witch’s anger intensifies. A pulsing vein on her forehead is magnified by one of her lenses. “You have the audacity to rename yourself? To give yourself an identity? To presume a purpose other than the one I’ve imposed upon you?”
“Y-y-yes, Mistress. I’m a photographer now. Like you. See?” Her hands are pinned to the machine, her right leg is immobile, but her left foot can still gesture toward the tiny camera on the bench.
The Clockwork Witch sneers. “Yes, I did notice that you’d built a toy with which to capture the light. How odd. How quaint. But your camera doesn’t make you anything like me. I may capture the odd ray of light as a byproduct, by why stop at light? My process captures magic. My process captures energy. My process captures power!”
Another blast from the dragonfire torch, another wave of scorching heat and stinging sparks, another wince and shriek of pain, and now the metal band on the Faery’s left ankle is complete. “There you are, Rose. There you are where you belong!”
The Clockwork Witch lifts her camera from the workbench and dances around her laboratory with a loving look into its central lens. The Steampunk Faery dances with her. She has no choice, because she is now, once again, an integral part of the machine.
Web3 Draft:
- Listed on OpenSea
- Listed on Rarible
Revision Notes:
To be added.
