23.4 Emotions Unearthed
General Summary
Day 396
For moment when I wake there is a slight disorientation as I hear wind chimes and birdsong in the air. It feels like I should be home in the Capital, but the feeling soon fades as the sounds of Lyssa, Alder, and Mystery chatting come in through the window.
Almost before my feet hit the floor I see a long wrapped bundle beside the bed. Its energy resonates strongly with the Shard of the Empress, which stirs and addresses me for the first time since I took her in. At her instruction I resist the urge to unwrap it and instead store it inside my internal dimension, which pleases her.
As I ready myself for the day I notice dirt scattered on the floor and beneath my fingernails, as though I had been scrabbling through the earth overnight. Troubling, but I clean it up and emerge to find Alder and Charlotte sparring while the others watch. Whatever the dirt is from was clearly the Shard's doing. It is...probably...nothing too concerning.
Mystery waves me over and remarks that while Belle was quite talented with a blade, Charlotte has yet to master it. Her raw physicality is very impressive but Alder's strategic fighting easily outweighs this. Apparently Belle settled down here because she had fallen in love with Tom, but it doesn't feel like the right place for Charlotte. It feels hollow.
When the sparring dies down and we assemble for an elvish breakfast (Meila has grown some herbs that are quite similar to what we have at home), I note that Lyssa seems oblivious to whatever nighttime activity occurred last night. Whether she is hiding her knowledge or truly unaware remains to be seen.
After breaking our fast we collect Bran and Meila leads us past the barrier torches and downstream to another spring fed by a waterfall. The shadows here are deeper and blooming plum trees scatter the earth with petals. Beneath one of these trees I just barely notice a disturbance amongst the petals where, just maybe, something quite substantial was dug up. I steadfastly ignore it as Meila explains that she's asked the village people to leave this place alone as it is special to elves. The space does feel familiar, but it feels like the ancient Empress and not the one across the Barrier.
She leads us behind the waterfall and I can feel Alder and Tira notice the atmosphere as well.
Inside it is dark but I can see Ossyr runes carved on the stone face
If I have failed, give what is here to my heir.
A shiver goes down my spine as I feel almost physically aware of the long, slender bundle that I tucked away into my storage space.
And still more carvings, cracked and unreadable. With the pearl I see them breaking apart in a brutal winter like the one we just experienced, then reforming to how they once were:
These waters bring life. If I have fallen, bring me here.
Despite this, the water feels barely magical. It has a faint yearning towards life the way Doraal tends to his plants, but certainly not worth carving into a wall over. At this, I feel the Shard strengthen. My family gives me some space and I kneel down gently on the cold floor to reach out (or in) to make contact with her. It is easier than I expected and I feel her presence like a fog around me as soon as I reach for her.
Finally. But also - too soon. Come to me again when you're more truly alone. Before you leave, find out where the magic of this spring went. It should be stronger.
And she imparts an awareness of what this magic felt like when she was here - strong and glowing with energy. I suppress my frustration (perhaps unsuccessfully) as she dismisses me and I find myself leaning forward, stone digging into my palms and a trickle of blood leaking from each ear. I shake it off and clean myself off before rejoining my people (Lyssa notices, of course).
When the others return to the village I ask Bran to stay back with me for a bit so we can talk, as I'm eager to hear his thoughts on Tom after spending time with him.
When I said I could sense happy endings here I was right, but it's not just that. These are endings because the people here will never again affect the fate of anyone outside of this place. They have their own fate but it is so dim it doesn't reach further than the village. The best way to describe Tom is that he is simply my opposite. Neither of us has commented on it but our magic repels each other. It is like he plucks out threads that have already been woven. He is like a seam ripper.
It's an interesting way of describing him. Seam rippers are a necessary tool but very few things need to be unwoven in order to improve. Bran comments that so many of the people here could have had important and rich lives outside of the village - Gedrin might have prevented Killeon from rising and causing the Severed if he had risen in the Candlemaker's church. Instead he is here. Who knows what Belle and Charlotte might have been?
And Tom himself seems 'too talented' for his age. Bran says that his thread stretches back 90 years but he is more knowledgeable, more talented than even Amytri, who has lived for a couple centuries. And once I point it out, he does feel somewhat like Miriam. Miriam...who stole her sister's magic. But instead of the gentle stream of magic that Miriam controls, Tom is like a river.
More and more I am convinced that we cannot leave this place without confronting him, but Bran is afraid of the confrontation. His magic wielded as a weapon could be devastating. We agree that Bran ought to be present whenever we deal with Tom - there is a chance that their magic might block one another and he might be able to keep us safe. I think Tira, as well, might be able to produce some contingency magic to counter it. Bran also wants to speak with Gedrin in the hopes of convincing him to leave and seek the rest of his fate outside the village. He would be a much-needed addition to the church.
We return to the village and go our separate ways, leaving me to find Charlotte on my own. She and Mystery are chatting on Meila's porch drinking tea together. They look happy. Still, I steal a conversation with Charlotte as Mystery gives us some privacy at my request.
And at my request Charlotte tells me more about the church of Mora, the Red Duellist. While many view her as violence and bloodshed, Mora is about passion and unchecked emotion. People's rational thoughts often inhibit them from following their true feelings, much to their own detriment. Charlotte considers her role to be in helping people get out of their own way, something she accomplishes with potions. She shows me a tiny rose-tinted vial of liquid that gives off an unfamiliar magical signature.
The brewing, she says, is half of her mother's gift. The duelling itself is the other, but she hasn't yet unlocked that properly. She tells me about how nice it was to spar with someone as talented as Alder; she hasn't had anyone to challenge her in a very long time.
But of course, none of this was the reason for my need for privacy. I ask her about bloodmoon jade, having heard that those close to Mora might be familiar with it or know where to obtain it. She smiles and shows me her daggers - each set with a tiny gem in the hilt. Her mother's prized possessions, she tells me, made by dwarves. She thinks some dwarven mines might contain more. It's more information than I had before, so I thank her.
And then she offers me three vials of her inhibition-removing potions.
There's a part of you that feels like it's trying to escape. It's not that you need to move past it to heal (you're wiser than that) but still...it helps to feel it all every so often. You're like Tom - he thinks that there are things that a leader has to keep hidden for the good of their people.
She might be right, but I think the feelings I'm hiding are hidden for a very good reason. Inhibitions don't always come from an irrational place. Still, I accept the vials. And I promise to do her a favour as well.
Will you tell Mystery that I'd like her to take me away from this place. If I tell her myself she'll explain why she can't. If you tell her, she'll figure out how to do it.
Kids.
