35.4 Like Loose Sand

General Summary

Day 526

At the end of the day Kaide has figured out the magic of the surrounding area. Various statues each put out a particular guardian magic, like a localized deity formed from the contributions of generations of people who resonate with particular magics. The people who once lived here created their own pantheon of gods to connect to instead of a tree or an Empress or a clan they guardians of knowledge and magic, collection and harvest, security and protection...and vengeance? But it doesn't feel like they did this completely by themselves - there is another strange magic at the outskirts that is unlike any that Kaide and I recognize between us.   The statues are all in minor states of disrepair and perhaps I will be able to have Lyssa send some dwarves who will be able to help. For her part Kaide wants to learn how to create such statue, perhaps as a way to empower the Lesser Races who have no racial magic.  

Day 527

I had hoped to give Niifti a little more time to think but we do need to continue heading West. When I return to him for an answer I find him somewhat wallowing in his feelings.  

I imagine we must disappoint you.

  He has been speaking to others in the village who have interacted with my family so far and points out how much I have accomplished in less than two years of being present on this side of the Barrier - rescuing elves, knitting together disparate settlements, extending the Empire even beyond the mountains, gathering and reminding people of who they are.   I have a strong urge, as always, to deflect this. Our people need very little reminder of who they are and many circumstances have aligned to make me into the mirror that I am. People tend to see what they believe they need reflected in me when I speak to them, including disappointment and judgement when I would never say such things to them. It is always most difficult to be kind to oneself but that is no reason not to try.   He muses about the nature of service and how he has been a good servant in the past - doing what is comfortable and required. He wants to be an exceptional servant of our people and become what is needed, so for the next fifty years he agrees to be my Watchkeeper here. He will see to it that this place forms partnerships with Mudbank and with the Weaver's Village, and the army will stay here as long as necessary to keep them stable until Niifti and Teyshavel think it is time for them to move East and come under the command of General Zadiyah. Hopefully it will be at a time with Brin is ready to join her as well.   I give the young elf his oaths as part of my outer family, a small shield against the magic of the Collective if they come looking for him. And the ring sent to me by Alwen that will keep him somewhat hidden from their eyes at all. I hope I see him again under good circumstances.  

Day 528

Travel resumes again and we point ourselves towards the Weaver's Village. Bran and Yneir have written to tell us that they expect to be there in a week and hope to see us there. On our own once again I have the change to see how everyone's studies are coming along: Liliales is rounding out his arcane skills nicely and Maedylvai is also improving with her motion magic. Jaeril and Trillium have found a resonance in their magic and are becoming closer as well, something that gives me much hope for our strangely Treeborn-entangled shared family.   A letter from Void arrives as well, telling me simply that they are looking for her. All the more reason to hurry and reach Magdalena, I think.   Later in the evening I'm able to work specifically with Trillium for the first time in a while. She has become adept enough with the pigments that we can start calling particular branches of ancestors and I begin her with looking for the diplomats, the people who have experienced conflict and seen it through with steadiness and grace. I feel her reaching far back along her roots before the magic is yanked away from her and consumed with a near-splitting roar. The pressure of magic around us increases and all the others pass out while I keep Trillium steady. And then it is gone as quickly as it came, leaving me with another hazy memory of my little shadow.  

It is late at night and I am working at patterns with baby Trillium sleepy but watching with rapt attention. She has her own paper and ink and I instruct her in drawing perfect circles, perfect stars, perfect spirals that go on forever with no touching lines. She asks how I got so good at drawing and I chuckle, thinking that paper is much easier than skin.

  I can only imagine that this presence was the dragon ancestors possessing her and consuming the magic she used to reach backwards. This tiny gift is not a good thing, as much as I treasure it. When I revive her she is weak and I set up an infusion of my own magic to sustain her while she recovers. I think maybe next time I can work on some distractions for the furious dragon inside her - illusions that draw its attention or even harmonies for her call that might slip past its guard.  

Day 529

In the morning it seems Jaeril was also affected by the experience.  

That roar shook me...and I had dreams that felt like memories. Not happy memories either - Groves dying and fae fighting fae. I saw red-winged fae laughing with cruel blades whose wounds would never heal. They descended from the sky like locusts in a swarm. I remember walking amongst fallen fae in a Grove, singing that it wouldn't be so bad next time. It felt like a promise, not just a thing I was saying.

   I worry about this memory and the red-winged fae. They are Temira's, I assume, and the story behind this memory is probably not one that will make anyone happy.