Fandom The Dragon Prince: Deep Trouble [Closed]

[Lucyfer]

The Bookery of Lux Aurea was as grand as such a name implied, and its current inhabitant had missed it dearly for years. The reason for her renewed access was, perhaps, a sad one, but the Skywing elf could not find it within herself to mourn greatly as she pulled a book of human history from the shelves and found a seat, idly reaching out to stroke the head of the stormbird as it rested upon the nearby chair.

Despite having an entire library at her disposal, the elf always returned to the same spot, and her dear companion Jove had learned this well, always stretching his body out upon the floor and resting his head upon the same cushion.

He always knew when it was time to leave, as well, if she ever got too distracted. When the sun dipped, he always started to make noise to remind her it was time to go.

But it was early, and so the elf settled into her seat to read what the elves had to say of human history, and human magic, hoping to glean something new in all of it. ‘But then again, they’ve never experienced it.’ Those who did experience dark magic, well…the state of Lux Aurea said enough.

They had no defense.

It made her wonder how she had come out on the other side. ‘Well, it wasn’t a corruption like this. If you get stricken now….’ She wondered, though. Could she pull through if she took a scratch? The temptation to learn, and the need not to pass until she had unraveled the secret of dark magic’s power, warred within her, and she ended up having to re-read several sentences until her focus returned, and she could get lost in the racist narrative once again.

‘I could go to the human libraries now with the border open….’ Her thoughts trailed again at a particularly boring part about human structures. ‘But I wonder if there are any books left on dark magic. They seem to be trying to purge it.’

Wait, what was that about a fire golem’s heart? When did she jump from structures to farming habits?

Once again, she had to go back and re-read. ‘This is why I hate these books.’ The tidbits about dark magic were just scattered in the story, as if it was something every human did, as if it was an innate part of their being, as primal magic was to, well, her. To elves.

Their narratives always made it seem that way about humans.

‘They don’t understand.’ So why did she expect to find understanding of it here? Why did she expect to find the secret she couldn’t grasp here? ‘I should read poems.’ Those had a weird way of being poignant enough. The little poetic words Aaravos had—

She shut the thought right up and slammed the book shut with a loud groan, leaning back in her seat and letting her head rest on top of it to stare up at the blue sky above. Jove trilled a concerned sound, and she just reached out her hand to rest on his head.

Silence fell as she let that hopelessness fill her again, that all this searching was for naught, only to be disturbed by something entirely unexpected.

The weight of the book left her lap.

The purple-haired elf sat up straight immediately and looked around as she stood, catching sight of a cuddlemonkey on the nearby railing, holding the book. “Give that back.”

A portal opened. The cuddlemonkey dropped the book.

The mage’s nose wrinkled and she snapped her fingers.

The portal shut, to a horrified shriek from the monkey as it hit the floor instead of going into her mystery portal. With another snap, a new portal was created and the book moved from the floor, right back into her hands, all while she never let her eyes leave the cuddlemonkey, daring it to try something with that dead stare.

The cuddlemonkey got the hint and ran, shrieking. “Those things are never alone,” she muttered to Jove, shaking her head, “this is going to be—” she cut herself off as she saw a human boy staring at her, jaw practically on the floor, and something glowing in the bag he was carrying.

Jove reacted to her surprise, rising from where he laid, ruffling his feathers so he looked larger – not that he was small by any means, considering she used him as a mount. His tail feathers still spread behind him to make it look like there was a huge cumulonimbus cloud at his back, and the way his feathers shifted with his ruffling did give the appearance of lightning.

He could shoot lightning – but Jove usually threatened first.

~***~

Finnegrin was in a foul mood that afternoon, and the weather seemed to agree as it clouded over the streets of Scumport. The waves came in high, crashing against the docks – not high enough to destroy stalls, but enough to be upsetting to plenty who came and went through the market, and plenty worrisome.

Enough profit had already been lost in his opinion to justify the irritation he felt coursing through his veins as he poured himself some water and drank deep, before taking a seat at his desk as one crab scuttled close and lifted up its white-and-red claws.

His lips tilted up a bit on his left side, before he reached one hand down to the crab and let it walk onto his hand. He lifted it up, and then moved the shell a bit with his other, “Mm, that is getting stuck, isn’t it,” he could not speak to animals, but he had come to understand the crabs quite well.

He had come to love the little dears.

“I’ll send to get you a new shell,” he settled the crab down on his desk, “here,” he tore a bit of meat from his own meal off and tossed it to the claws, which caught it, allowing the crab to begin to eat right there on the desk with the fury of a starved griffin. The crab was hardly starved, but it made Finnegrin chuckle, just a little.

Just enough to lighten his mood, a bit.

“Trying to outgrow your sisters?” Not that the crab answered. Still, Margwyn was likely to outgrow many of the others with the ravenous way she ate, and soon occupy a ship of her own, like his beloved Sea Legs. He’d been rather shit with naming then, but he supposed the name fit her rather well.

She was the fastest he’d ever had, and that was saying something. He knew, she grew in strength and speed to one day avenge her sibling. He would one day honor that promise.

Domina Profundis would perish, just as soon as he understood the secrets to killing a dragon.

He knew it rested in dark magic, an art he hesitated to try himself. He had plenty of power in the ocean, but then, so did Domina Profundis. More than he had. He would need something more to take her on, but taking that step….

Even he hesitated.

He heard the sound of keys, and the insistent murmuring of his First Mate as he gave away the order of the keys in his insipid little poem. ‘And you wonder why I call you an idiot.’ Actually, the idiot probably didn’t wonder at all. There wasn’t a single thought in Deadwood’s head, except what Finnegrin wanted, and today, Finnegrin wanted a particular little thief named Willow.

Deadwood pulled the half-elf into the room, a unique specimen even in the times where humans and elves mingled more freely. That change had only come into effect about two years ago, after all – and she was no infant. Her fingers gave away what she was, as well as her rather diminutive horns.

Deadwood brought her up close to the desk, and Finnegrin gestured for him to let her go, “That’s enough, that’s enough,” he said, “you may take a seat,” the ‘may’ was a curtesy. If she didn’t take a seat, Deadwood would force her into the chair, even though Finnegrin now stood.

He wouldn’t immediately address the woman beyond that, “I need you to find a new shell for Morgwyn, she’s outgrown her current one,” he lifted the crab from the table, to silent protests of raised claws and waving the meat one held in frustration, “find one slightly bigger than this. Do you think you can handle that?” the implication that he couldn’t was heavy in tone.

“Yes, captain.”

“Good, get on it then,” he dismissed, setting the crab down to scuttle off the desk, now that it was under threat of being lifted, and he fixed his gaze down upon the woman with the dark green hair.

His smile was not kind, cutting his face like a knife, sharpening his blue eyes, “My lady,” he addressed, “I have longed to do business with you,” he noted, “I would have rather preferred this business be handled far earlier than now, as you have wracked up quite the debt which you could have been spared from.”

He settled both hands on the desk as he leaned forward, “Do you have anything at all to say for yourself, dear?” likely plenty, and all of it would be rubbish excuses that would do her no good, but they never seemed to understand that.

 

[cleopat]

Callum began to wonder about his own sanity as he and Rayla tried to willingly sneak into the forbidden ruins of Lux Aurea, before his aunt caught on to their plans. Now it was the three of them, plus the sunfire elf who knew the library, err, bookery, like the back of their hand, Kazi.

We just need to leave before sundown, and everything will be okay.

That’s normally when things don’t end up okay for them, but with Aunt Amaya and Rayla there, he felt no trepidation. No fear. Just focus on finding information about how to kill a Startouch elf.

And, apparently, information on how Kazi used to hide in the Great Bookery during their days in university in order to have more time to read. Bait croaked as the glow toad regarded the information with relative uninterest.

While the others seemed uninterested in that information, Callum loved it. He always loved discussing with someone who understood the importance of books for boundless information.

They all searched deeper into the library, Amaya the one on alert for any danger while the other allowed themselves to relax until sunset, when the corrupted souls would come out.

Bait stayed close to Callum, following him on the ground, while Rayla’s cuddlemonkey, a creature that always seemingly mimicked her movements, left her side for something that caught her interest further in the library. Callum thought nothing of it at first, Stella was always off looking around somewhere new with a lot of shiny objects for her to inspect, and sometimes steal, but he swore he heard a voice from further in the stacks.

A voice he didn’t recognize as Rayla’s or Kazi’s.

Then there was the unmistakable noise of a book hitting the floor, coming from a direction he did not see anyone go toward. He turned his head, inspecting the area. Everyone else was preoccupied with their own search. No one else heard that-?

He turned a corner around a bookshelf, and there was another figure there that definitely was not one of them. A purple elf. His jaw dropped open in shock, though whether it was shock from surprise at seeing another living creature there, or from seeing a purple elf he couldn’t immediately identify, he could not understand in the moment.

And a fiercely protective creature stood by her side, looking menacing as it puffed its feathers up. When in doubt of what a creature is, do not anger it.

Before he could utter a single word, a bright glowing from within his bag caught his attention. Callum looked down, realizing it was the cube. The key of Aaravos. It was glowing. He wouldn’t pull it out to inspect which of the arcanums were glowing, not when he could be attacked when he wasn’t looking.

“Umm…who are you?” he asked, raising his voice some to carry throughout the empty Bookery for the others to hear. Well, Amaya wouldn’t be able to hear him, but he hoped Kazi or Rayla could get her attention. “I’m sorry…I honestly expected this place to be completely deserted.”

~~~

Come on and roll the old chariot along

We’ll roll the old chariot along

The fog was thick and heavy that morning, and any incoming ships greatly required the help of the nearby lighthouse to guide them to shore.

Willow relied on the thick fog to hide her from any curious eyes that may find her from Finnegrin’s men. She normally stuck to early dawn or after the sun had set, but the night’s previous storm delayed a shipment she was supposed to pick up before Finnegrin’s men could count it.

And with the docks momentarily sparse for the time, until the fog lessened, she was willing to risk it for what may be a pretty coin.

A shadowed figure approached her from further in the docks. “How are things looking, Drake?” A Tidebound elf, Drake was one of the few individuals in Scumport she trusted, despite their shared animosity in the beginning. But in the end, they were both individuals stuck in a shitty life by circumstances they couldn’t control, and a friendship formed.

And we'll roll the old chariot along

And we’ll all hang on behind!

“I couldn’t see any of his men. Still, we need to be careful. I don’t have a good feeling.” He crossed his arms over his chest, but Willow merely waived him off.

“And how often do you say that and everything ends up just perfectly fine?” At least once a week for the last few years, which he acknowledged with a grunt.

They approached the docked ship, and the exchange began without a hitch. Drake stepped on the ship to grab the shipment, and Willow talked with the captain of the ship in an exchange of coins, when matters began to go south.

A large figure entered her peripheral, and there stood Deadwood, Finnegrin’s most notorious henchman and first mate. Oh shit. She had nowhere to run, as the other end of the dock was the sea. Well, maybe I could try and swim out of here…

Drake was still deep in the ship, and the captain backed up as Deadwood approached. “The half-elf named Willow,” well, there was no denying who he wanted, “Captain Finnegrin would like a word with you.”

Despite nowhere to go, she backed up a few steps. “Well, you can tell him I’m a bit indisposed at the moment, and he will have to schedule me in another day.”

Deadwood didn’t respond. He simply grabbed her, and as she immediately put up a struggle to get away, he hauled her over one shoulder as he began his trek back to Finnegrin’s office.

Fuck fuck fuck. This wasn’t good, and the occasional look sent her way by those who walked the streets only emphasized that fact. She struggled a few more times on the journey, but it was to no avail.

They arrived, and Finnegrin placed her down on the ground, grip tight on her arm, as he pulled out a set of three keys and recited a rhyme Willow immediately memorized. “Squid, sails, a hammerhead’s tail.” He pulled her into the room when faced with her last act of defiance before all hope was lost.

Face to face with the pirate captain himself, her stomach dropped at the odds of her getting out of this alive. Or free.

“Trees to meet you,” she said with a sardonic grin, ignoring his polite command for her to sit. Her little act of defiance did not go ignored, and Deadwood forced her into the chair with a heavy hand, and she possessed the intelligence to remain in the chair, even as Deadwood left to go do the menial task Finnegrin gave him.

Her attention had been momentarily stolen by the crabs, before Finnegrin’s voice snapped her gaze back up to him. Cold and cruel like the winds on the sea. The only way she could describe the elf standing before her. “Well, if you wanted to do business, all you had to do was ask to schedule a time and date to meet. After all, I am a very busy woman.”

She knew she was on thin ice already, but her nerves were getting the better of her. “I am a hard working woman who earns my coins honestly. I have no idea why I have been carried through the streets and dragged into your office today.”

 

[Lucyfer]

The unknown boy pitched his voice up. ‘Never alone.’ And a human child shouldn’t be, either. “Jove, down,” she said to the stormbird, and although he seemed not to want to, he still fluffed his feathers, and toned his threatening posture down, although he continued to glare at Callum, white eyes fierce.

“So did I,” the mage answered the child about the library being deserted. Neither of them, apparently, hoped to run into others, and now the mage heard other steps closing in on her location. “We can continue to pretend there’s no one else. I won’t bother your reading,” she suggested, rather than introduce herself.

He wouldn’t know who she was, but as one of the Sunfire elves entered the area, she had some doubts as to how long she’d be welcomed. “We do not mind sharing the library,” the Sunfire librarian said, their voice pitched in confusion, “we are looking for something specific, that even I do not know how to find,” they chuckled at their own ineptness, “it was not my area of study, you see.”

“It’s…very unlikely we share an interest,” she hedged, shifting to turn away only to notice a moonshadow assassin at her back with the cuddlemonkey.

Her own increasing anxiety ruffled Jove, but he kept his thread display minimized.

So, she held out the book, “I’m just studying history. With the new connections between Xadia and the human kingdoms—”

“We are, too!” The sunfire elf said, and the final person arrived, another human, this one in armor, near to the moonshadow assassin. “Although, perhaps it is not similar history, you may have run across. We are looking for information on Startouch elves.”

“Or the Great Ones, the First Elves – we can’t seem to find a book where the information stays on the page.” The assassin said, “though we haven’t found the terminology First Elves, so we’re looking for the Scrolls of the First Elves.”

It was only sudden nausea that kept her from interrupting the moonshadow with a curt dismissal. Perhaps that was for the best, interjecting too quick would have been suspicious, and the sunfire elf didn’t seem to know who she was to start ordering her out of the library, anyways. She didn’t want to start any fights. ‘But why are they looking for this?’

“I’ve read those scrolls,” she said, shaking her head, and noticing the sunfire elf signing. She took note that one was deaf, and quickly discerned it was the woman in armor, so she looked at her as she spoke, “I’m afraid they will also fade for you. Anything with history on Aaravos fades,” poetry was another matter, as she’d realized later in life, but there was little she could do about that.

Poetry had a life of its own.

The expressions on everyone’s faces changed. “Wait – you know about Aaravos?” the moonshadow blurted.

They hadn’t said his name.

‘Nope, going to be sick.’ She turned from them to set her book on the table, for next time. When the library really was deserted.

“Hey, no, don’t go! We need help! If you know him—” the assassin began.

“I never knew anything.” She didn’t speak towards the deaf woman this time, her benefit not a great concern.

“—you can help us! There’s some dark mages who are trying to release him!” the assassin continued.

When she reached for her bag, the cuddlemonkey ran ahead and grabbed it, swiftly taking it out of reach, “Stella! No!” the assassin, at least, was against the stealing in this instance.

Stella ignored this, opened up another portal – and as before, the mage snapped her fingers and shut it.

Which was exactly what Stella wanted, though the mage gave the monkey no credit for being able to think ahead like that. The gasp from the moonshadow also wasn’t hint enough as she grabbed her bag.

“Are you…a Startouch elf?” That terrible awe. The mage hated the sound of it. It had been so long that she really showed her magic to others who understood, that she'd forgotten to even consider hiding it.

“No, I’m not a—” Then it dawned on the mage what she’d done – and by her reaction to the mention of Startouch anything, why they might suspect that.

She sighed in defeat, looking back at everyone, and registering this was a group of two kids, and two adults, trying to find information on something none of them should even know about. Which meant what they said might be true – someone was trying to release Aaravos. “No, I’m not,” she said again, more calmly, as she let her bag slide back into the chair where Jove had once been resting his head, “My name is Lethe, I’m a Skywing elf.”

And much as she hated this: “Someone’s trying to release Aaravos?” her mind was swirling with questions. Who? Why? How long did she have to find an entirely new continent and avoid his wrath?

~***~

The ‘trees to meet you’ greeting only earned the halfling a very dry look from the Tidebound elf, who was not at all amused with that traditional greeting in the scenario. He didn’t really care what Earthbound elves thought of the greeting, it was never in good tastes.

Her attempt to claim she was doing honest business, however, got a laugh out of him. It was the most ridiculous thing he’d heard yet, and he’d already heard quite a bit that day. “Girl, you’re either as stupid as any other thick-skulled earthbound elf, or you’re a liar, and considering your struggles with Deadwood, I’m going to go with liar, so I’ll spare you the time wasting your breath coming up with any further lies that will only get you killed.”

Not that he minded killing her.

Sea Legs always needed more fresh meat.

“You’ve been doing business for a long time without paying the operating tax for doing business in the Bright Hope Cove,” Finnegrin lifted one hand, and held up a finger, “You’ve also been pilfering goods I’ve ordered in, and paying off the importers to lie about the count, alongside an associate named Drake.”

Knowing that name, and the other names of her associates, was a threat. He didn’t mask that at all in tone or expression. He was very willing to do all of her associates great harm, considering they had slighted him.

“Not just my goods, either, others who actually pay their operating taxes to me have been complaining of short shipments,” three fingers. Three strikes. “Now, love, I’m sure you understand I’m due quite a bit of money from your activities here, so we can strike all of this off the record if you can just pay me, 3,500 gold coins, immediately.”

She’d stolen much less than that over her time, but he had to account for interest. Letting her hold onto that money without paying it back clearly meant it was loaned to her, and now it was time to collect his due.

Finnegrin was also fairly certain she didn’t have near that amount, but he didn’t add any alternatives to the table. He wanted it to sink in, exactly how fucked she was, before he offered her any rope. Whether she used the rope to hang herself, or pull herself up, would be her call.

 

[cleopat]

Callum was just as surprised as everyone else when the mysterious elf performed magic he associated with the star arcanum, thanks to their little cuddlemonkey, Stella. And she was a Skywing elf! And she knew something about Aaravos!

There was much for him to get excited over, but they were on a time limit that could mean life or death.

Still, he couldn’t help it. “A Skywing elf? I can wield the Sky Primal magic! There are so many questions I want to ask you.” But a quick sign from Amaya, focus, brought him back to their current reality. “Oh, right, that can be addressed later.”

But by some fortuitous opportunity, this Skywing elf knew of Aaravos. Maybe even knew him personally? But wait, wouldn’t that be impossible? Aaravos was imprisoned a long time ago, and Skywing elves didn’t quite live that long. Still, she knew something, and they had to go with that.

“Yes, someone’s trying to release Aaravos. Two dark mages, and they are days ahead of us already, as they have a map that leads to him.” Claudia and Viren, who knew where they were in Xadia by now. “We’re hoping to find something that explains how to kill a Startouch elf.”

Kazi looked a little nervous as they approached, more comfortable with spreading knowledge, not violence. “And fortunately, I do not know where information like that would be stored in the Great Bookery.”

“Can you help us?” Callum pleaded once more. “What can you tell us about Aaravos?”

~~~

Oh, so he did not like her little Earthblood greeting. That was fair. She honestly didn’t like the greeting her mother used quite often, but anxiety and nerves made people do weird things.

Willow frowned at him, not appreciating his little jab at Earthblood elves. It would be foolish to argue against such an inconsequential thing, she realized, as her situation apparently seemed worse and worse. Oh, he knew exactly what she had been doing in their little town. She silently listened to Finnegrin tick off her business venture one by one, with her blood running cold at the mention of Drake’s name.

Fuck. Willow had the bright plan of just simply making a run for it, but when Finnegrin mentioned his name, she knew she couldn’t do it. Everything would fall on Drake, he would pay for her mistakes, and she couldn’t allow that. Not after everything he had done for her.

Her other associates? They weren’t as trustworthy as Drake, and one of them had to have snitched on her. She couldn’t care what happened to them.

Three fingers held up. Yeah, she was fucked, but she didn’t realize how truly fucked she was until he mentioned the fee she owed him. Her eyes widened in shock, and her heart pounded in her chest. No one had that kind of money! She had…maybe five hundred gold coins hidden away. “I think you must have done your math wrong. There’s no way I owe that much.” Oh, she was fucked.

Unless she told Finnegrin she was off to get his money, and then she and Drake quickly skipped town. Would that work? Fuck, it may have to work, there’s no way there’s even 3,500 gold coins in this miserable town. It may be a stupid plan, but how stupid could it be if she could get out of there without losing her life? Or Drake’s?

“But, I can go get your money.” Willow stood up and slowly moved behind the chair she was just sitting in, desperate to put some space between her and the Captain. Her hands rested on the back of the chair. “And I’ll bring it before sunset.” Hopefully she’ll be long gone by sunset.

With Deadwood gone from the office on some bizarre errand, she slowly backed up towards the door. “How does that sound? We can then all go on our merry way as if this little incident never happened, and you’ll never have to see me again.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Surprise was an understatement for how Lethe felt when the human claimed to know primal magic, before her expression softened into warmth. Kinship, almost immediately, not because it was sky magic he related to, but because she knew what he'd done to learn it. He had overcome everyone telling him he couldn't, just as she had.

They had done impossible things.

The focus stayed on Aaravos, unfortunately. On how to kill him. 'That would have been kinder then what we did.' For some reason, they had wanted to confine him rather than kill him. Not their brightest moment, but Lethe wasn't involved in those conversations.

'I can't tell you anything. I never really knew him.' It was the lie Lethe burned into her head. The elf she had known had been a mere fabrication. A mask. A lie, for something malicious. When she learned all he did, she knew that.

"I don't know how to kill him," of that much, she was certain, "nor why it wasn't the first option in dealing with him."

"Well, Zubeia and the others do not know how. I presume imprisonment was done because they could not kill him and attempts would only make things worse," the Sunfire elf hypothesized.

'He can't just be stabbed?' no, probably not.

"Wait, you said you read those scrolls we're looking for," Rayla noted. "Do you know how to make them legible?"

Lethe hesitated, but admitted with a bowed head, "Yes. I sealed the knowledge. I can reverse it."

~***~

Watching the panic sink in was Finnegrin's favorite part, even if the parts afterwards usually annoyed him. Like the way Willow stood up and tried to escape.

He grinned, though he knew she was lying about being able to get the money. If this was the card she wanted to play, he'd call her bluff. "Oh you do have it? Well then, let me accompany you to retrieve it," he stepped around his desk, like an eager pup for a treat. "After all, I'm sure all that profit you've saved is somewhere safe and easy to get to, so this will be a quick jaunt into the town, and then we can come back to talk about business so we never have to deal with these delayed payments again."

As he spoke, he walked by her, to the door, and there paused before it, not yet opening it, "Of course, if you're lying, the punishment will be significantly more severe." He smiled, "but I'm sure your aren't lying and we don't need to reconsider heading out, right?"

There.

The little option of something else.

 

[cleopat]

“You can reverse it?” Callum repeated, near flabbergasted. This would be the breakthrough they were looking for!

Amaya looked slightly suspicious at the Skywing elf. You? You sealed the knowledge? Kazi translated for Lethe and Rayla.

Even Kazi looked confused. “Wait, you said you are a Skywing elf, but you sealed the knowledge of Aaravos? That’s impossible, since he was imprisoned centuries ago.”

“Wait, how long do Skywing elves normally live?” Callum asked, looking a bit puzzled at the whole situation.

“About as long as a Moonshadow elf, give or take a few years,” Kazi answered.

Callum’s head was beginning to hurt. “Maybe this is just something to worry about later. First, I want to take a look at these scrolls with the knowledge revealed to us.” He looked back at Lethe. “Can you do that for us? To help put a stop to releasing Aaravos.”

~~~

Willow paused in her steps, not even bothering to look behind her as Finnegrin eagerly walked to the door to help her fetch her money. How kind of him. Even if she did have all the money, it wouldn’t all be in one place. Certainly not easy to get to.

He was completely calling out her lie. Willow thought for a second if she could outrun him into the town and lose him, but what about Drake? Being left behind to suffer the fate of her consequences? No, she couldn’t do that. She would have to see how things progressed, and plan from then.

Her jaw clenched and fists tightened as she truly realized the gravity of the situation she was in. There were rumors throughout the port town of how Finnegrin makes everyone under his thumb obey him, and she really didn’t want to figure out the hard way of how he does that.

“I only have five hundred gold coins,” she admitted with disdain. Willow looked over her shoulder to look at the pirate. “If I give you all of that today, then what? Just have me give you all of my money until my debts are settled?” She would find a way to leave the Cove before that happened.

 

[Lucyfer]

The confusion was tangible on everyone's faces. Lethe did nod to Amaya once her question was translated, but it only brought up more. More, very understandable, questions. She didn't really want to answer them, though.

The boy also didn't want to dwell on those questions, either. He wanted to get answers from long sealed scrolls and books…which was another thing that Lethe didn't want to help with, but they also needed to stop Aaravos, didn't they?

If he escaped, there'd be no imprisoning him a second time.

"I…." Lethe still hesitated, "I would need Zubeia's permission." She said, a bit lamely, given the urgency and unlikely ability for these people to get into correspondence with the literal Queen of the Dragons. Still, it was the only entity left she deferred to at all, even if time caused resentment to fester towards the Queen.

"Well if that's all," the assassin said, "we should gather up the books and go see her. We're expecting get back soon with Callum's brother."

Lethe could hardly mask her surprise, and looked towards the Sunfire elf.

"That is correct. Not here, but a message was sent that they arrived in our camp. They've gone to speak to Domina Profundis about the prison, although now I wonder, do you know where it is?"

Lethe shook her head, mind reeling.

This was a serious threat. "I'm sure Zubeia will forgive me," it was said more to herself, though, before she fixed Callum with a look. "I'll unlock it, but prove you're not a dark mage first. Show me you know a primal source."

~***~

Willow came clean, and although that was good, it did darken his spirits. His expression showed it in the collapse of the mock exuberance he shared for finding the money with her. "Well that's just disappointing, pebble," he remarked, shoulders falling as he turned from the door and strode over to her.

"Whatever were you thinking with that plan? Ah, probably not much at all," he casually insulted. "It's alright, I'll tell you what can be done so you don't have to do anymore thinking."

Obviously, she'd be repaying him, but not on her terms

"You're going to give me all of that gold, of course. Then you're going to move into quarters on my ship. You'll work off your debt in service to me. Everything you need will be provided for, of course."

The implication of no outside job was high. She would owe all to him, until he felt satisfied the debt was paid. Which was likely to be never. She'd need to do something truly extraordinary to get out of his service. "But don't worry, I'll send that lackwit with you to help you pack your things and get your affairs in order."

 

[cleopat]

Lethe stating that she needed Zubeia’s permission as if it was the biggest challenge in the world was almost laughable, but she didn’t know of their connection with the Queen of the Dragons. And how could she, when they just met?

But Rayla quickly cleared that up.

“We’re actually pretty close with Zubeia. It’s a long story that involves her son, Zym,” Callum said. No doubt Lethe only had more questions for them, but the next question she asked caught Callum a little off guard.

Though most elves were more often than not in disbelief that a human could possess the magic of a Primal source.

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Um, okay.” He straightened back up and turned his body to face away from the group. He raised one hand up, tracing a pattern into the air before saying the familiar spell, “Aspiro.”

Callum tried to keep it at a gentle breeze, enough that Lethe could see the Primal magic in action. The breeze soon stopped, and he turned back to the Skywing elf. “Ta-da!”

~~~

Willow wanted nothing more than to punch Finnegrin in the mouth, especially with that sly insult. How dare he! She had half a mind to do it anyways, consequences be damned, but then he explained his little deal for her to wipe out her debt.

Oh fuck no. A lifetime of servitude on his ship, on the open ocean, far from the Earth she was connected to. Sure, he didn’t specify how long she would serve under him, but she thought it was heavily implied.

A pirate like Finnegrin was a cruel, sadistic sort.

She couldn’t spend a life on the ocean. Her desperation to escape that fate was enough to convince her mind to do what it took to remain free.

Earthblood elves can do much with dirt, even just a little bit. A pinch. Willow always carried a little bit of dirt on her, just in case, and today required the idiotic use of it. “I think I’m going to have to turn down the offer, and we can just go back to when we didn’t know each other.” Before Finnegrin could say anything, before he could blink, Willow reached into her pocket and drew out the dirt, blowing it directly into his eyes in an attempt to momentarily blind him.

Without a wonder if she incapacitated him, Willow turned and hurried to the door of the office, yanking it open and sprinting out, desperate to create distance between herself and Finnegrin. The next step would be to blend back in with the criminals of Scumport, before trying to find Drake and hightailing it out of the Cove.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘Oh. So you’re the ones….’ Lethe heard the stories. How could she not? The humans who restored the dragon prince to queen Zubeia were famous, but she hardly knew them, she hadn’t even committed their names to memory. It simply…hadn’t mattered much, despite how monumental a thing it was.

She should have paid attention if it had a human child learning a primal source. Lethe’s expression remained soft, not at all the shock and surprise so many others had likely given Callum over all his time.

She knew what it was to learn a second primal source, after all. Knew it was possible, somehow, even for humans. This was the first she’d seen of it, even in Aaravos’s time.

The human mage was still quite pleased with himself for it, though. “That’s good,” she said, “I did not realize you were the ones who helped Zubeia. My…apologies,” she would have to trust Zubeia wouldn’t be furious with her. “I know where the scrolls are, follow me,” she motioned for Jove, though he took to flying alongside, much as Stella took to running along the railing and the glow toad just…hopped.

“Who are you all?” She heard Callum and Stella’s names, but the others were a mystery.

“Oh, how rude – we did not introduce ourselves. I am Kazi,” the sunfire introduced.

The human warrior signed – and Kazi translated.

“I’m Rayla,” the moonshadow said, “and this grumpy man is Bait! Oh, and she’s Stella. She’s…a startouched cuddlemonkey. You’ve…been using star magic, right?”

“Mmm.” Lethe confirmed it. No point denying it since she was going to show more.

“But…how is it possible? I mean….”

“You ask that when a human understands the sky?” She cocked a brow, “it’s a matter of understanding the arcanum, nothing more, nothing less,” they reached the bottom floor again, and she led them to where, indeed, plenty of historical texts were, most in poorly bound tomes, or scrolls, almost all behind glass for preservation.

“I should have guessed,” Kazi looked a bit embarrassed as Lethe opened one of the glass displays and unraveled it. The words began to fade immediately, but she did not concern herself with that.

She dotted the air, the magic appearing and brimming in the air, but she only connected the lines of humming magic once she’d made all the points – like connecting the stars of a constellation. “Admoneo.”

How simple it was, truly! How many times Lethe had thought of doing it, learning it from the stars above as her only teacher for the magic. It was all there…it was just so difficult to grasp, but she’d sought this one out, because having an option was less scary than not having an option.

The ink returned to the scroll.

Not just of that scroll. Wherever the name Aaravos, his epitaphs, and talk of his people were, it would no longer run from the seeking eyes of others.

~***~

‘I’m not asking, love.’

Willow just didn’t understand, though. Apparently, she didn’t understand how generous he was being, either, as she all but spat in his face by throwing up dirt towards his eyes. He shut them quickly enough to avoid the worst of it, and opened them after flicking water into his own face to remove the stinging irritants from his flesh.

Willow had only just opened the door.

He extended his hand out and lazily made the all-too familiar sign in the air as he spoke the words, “Veinus Frigardis.” He knew the spell would catch her, so he was in no rush as he watched her try to run.

Soon, she wouldn’t be able to run at all.

Or move.

The blood in her veins would freeze, causing immense agony, while he just…casually sauntered up once her steps would slow, and stop. He’d easily get ahead of her, gray eyes shadowed as he looked down at her, not at all impressed.

“Well, love, if you wanted to be the newest statue of my collection, all you had to do was say so. That clears up all debts entirely!” he knew that was not her intent, but he didn’t so much as release the hold he had on her. “I always need a new one. They stop making those delightful little sounds only too soon. I wonder how long a pebble like yourself will last?”

He did reach out to touch her face as the cold made itself known upon her skin.

Oh, she’d find a way to speak. To plead. They always did. He wasn’t sure if he was any mood to do more than listen, though. She’d quite annoyed him with lying, and then trying to run away when he offered her such a generous deal of never needing to pay for food ever again! What more could she really want?

Well, he knew that.

If she wanted freedom, she should have thought about that when she undercut his profits.

 

[cleopat]

Callum immediately insisted that it was okay she didn’t know who they were. It wasn’t her fault! He imagined they were just an unassuming ragtag group of kids to anyone who didn’t know them already. “And I’m Callum!” he introduced.

And Callum eagerly listened to the Skywing elf as she explained how she knew the star arcanum. He guess…it made sense. There was still much to learn about the arcanums, but if a human could become connected with the Sky Primal, why couldn’t a Skywing elf learn about the Stars?

Lethe rolled out a scroll, and Callum watched as the text disappeared, as expected. She moved her hand in the air, in a way different than he signed for spells, and upon the magical word, the ink returned, and soft gasps could be heard in the room. Callum was mesmerized by what transpired before his eyes.

“Amazing…” he whispered in awe, eyes scanning over the document in haste, as if the text would disappear again. But it didn’t. It stayed, and they could finally learn more about Aaravos.

“That’s just amazing…” Callum trailed off, realizing he still didn’t know her name. “Oh! And what’s your name?”



Oh, now this is interesting.

Aaravos felt it the moment Lethe lifted the spell that banished his name from the written word. Of course in the moment, he couldn’t quite place the feeling that overcame him. He didn’t know what happened, just that something had happened somewhere far away.

But given the lack of individuals that knew the Star arcanum, his mind went to the one individual he knew held knowledge of the arcanum. The one individual he had taught long ago, before the cruel betrayal that left him imprisoned for centuries.

Without knowing it would work, Aaravos reached out for Lethe, and his lips twisted into an icy smile when he realized he could reach out. He could manifest himself to where she was, yet also showing himself to anyone, or anything, else attuned to the Star arcanum, which he didn’t think would be anyone else, save for the cuddlemonkey he spotted in the bookery with everyone else.

“Oh, now this is interesting,” he spoke, only audible to Lethe and Stella. He glanced around, taking in the sight of the gang of kids he knew were trying to stop Viren from freeing him, before his gaze landed on Lethe. “Why, hello my old friend.”

~~~

It was only a few steps outside the office when she began to feel the effects of the spell. What the-?

She slowed as the spell began to spread up her limbs, as the hope for escape diminished. Then, the pain began.

As her movements slowed to a stop, Willow let out an agonized cry as the pain spread, a pain that was deep and overwhelming. A pain she had never experienced before.

She had heard rumors about such a spell before, but never had she seen it in action. But, in that moment, she understood how Finnegrin became such a feared pirate and commanded a loyal crew. It was nothing more than fear over what he could do to them with a simple spell.

Fear gripped her as she understood her situation. She was fucked. There was no way out of this from a Tidebound elf who knew how to freeze blood. Willow heard him approach, and she watched the best she could as he moved in front of her.

Oh how the pain grew as the spell took over her body.

She couldn’t even flinch as he laid a hand on her face. “You win,” she admitted defeat, through gasps of pain. How she wanted the pain to stop. “I give up.” What else could she say when she could only say so much?

 

[Lucyfer]

Although Lethe still suspicion in the others, Callum – well, Callum was awed. Inspired. ‘Could he learn?’ Lethe wondered, already knowing he would want to. She dismissed the ‘could’ from her mind. Callum would. If it was what he wanted, Callum would learn the Star Arcanum. Perhaps, he’d learn them all.

Nevermind the suspicion from the others, even if it was deserved.

It was only in oblivion that Lethe found any hope. ‘He can’t remain oblivious forever.’

That point was driven home as he asked who she was, and she saw the glimmer of something.

Someone.

She dared not look directly at it. ‘Hallucination. Guilt hallucination.’ Sure, it had never happened before, but she’d never removed the spell before, either. She was definitely hallucinating. “Lethe,” she spoke, even as she became ashen.

That didn’t seem to go unnoticed by the deaf one, “Oh – uh – are you all right, Miss Lethe?” Kazi translated, as the hallucinated decided to be an audible hallucination as well as a visual one.

Except, Stella was freaking out. She ran along the railing to near where Aaravos was, and started pointing and hopping, right at him. ‘Hallucination.’ The idea wasn’t sticking.

“Stella!” Rayla, of course, ran right to the monkey. Right through Aaravos who wasn’t there for her, to pick up and console her cuddlemonkey, who didn’t seem terribly consoled by the act, but quieted down a bit, while still glaring at Aaravos over Rayla’s shoulder.

“Yes,” Lethe laughed it off, “Just—sorry, looking at it makes me feel a bit…uncomfortable. If it’s all the same, I’d like to return to my research and leave you to yours,” she took a step back, “it’ll need to be sealed again when you’re done.”

Maybe then the hallucination would go away.

~***~

Willow’s cry was sweet. As sweet as many others, but Finnegrin never got tired of hearing the sound, anyways. He didn’t quite believe that Willow was entirely subdued, but he did believe she got the point clearly. Everyone on his crew, eventually, got the point…and she was now joining that crew, whether she liked it or not. It could even be useful, if she could do any of her own magic.

The earth wasn’t that much of an offense, but sometimes, there were rocks in the way that it was tricky for Sea Legs to navigate.

With a smirk on his lips, he waved the magic off to let her thaw out, though his hands moved to her shoulders, to make sure she wouldn’t just fall. No, no, she wasn’t getting the rest of collapse, “Good. Then perhaps we’ll go together to get your things, to make sure everyone knows your new position.”

Drake would likely understand, and if he was smart, he’d stay back unless he wanted to share in her fate, or suffer worse. Finnegrin did wonder how much a martyr Drake wanted to be, to save the girl.

Some men acted so stupid over others.

“Come,” when he was sure she had some strength, he’d move his hands only to clap one on her back to push her forward, “your new life starts now.” He didn’t need to wait for Deadwood to be her escort – and now she knew why.

There’d be no more attempts at running.

At least, not for a little while. “Why don’t you tell me, do you know your own arcanum well enough to draw power from it? That could be a useful skill on this ship – could earn you more towards your freedom.”

 

[cleopat]

The cuddlemonkey would get annoying if it continued to point and scream in his general direction, but there was nothing Aaravos could do about that except glare. Stella didn’t care. She just stared right back.

But when he refocused on his dear old friend, his glare shifted into a twisted smile. One that promised reparations for what she’d done to him.

Callum also looked upon Lethe with a touch of worry. Stella’s random freaking out didn’t help things either. Something didn’t quite feel right - barring the status of Lux Aurea - but he couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“B-but wait, why does this information need to be resealed? What if we need more?” Callum didn’t like that idea one bit. “What exactly are you researching? Maybe we can help each other out!”

“We all are on a bit of a time limit,” Kazi reminded nervously.

“And if we help each other out, then I’m sure we can get out of here even faster!” Callum was convinced by his own words.

“Yes, why don’t you help them?” Aaravos crooned. “I’m sure you can tell them all about me.”

Stella still glared at him.

~~~

Willow felt the pain subside and the ice in her veins melted away, and she was prepared to collapse on the floor, wanting to even, in order to gather herself, but of course Finnegrin had to take that away from her with his grip on her shoulders. She just…felt extremely uncomfortable as her body tried to recoup itself.

He clapped one hand on her back, and though her strength had largely returned, Willow stumbled a few steps forward, catching herself before she had a chance to fall to the floor. But the more she moved her limbs, the more normal they felt again.

Oh how she didn’t want her friend to see her like this. No doubt he was already waiting at her residence in Scumport to find out what happened, if he already didn’t walk the streets to find out if anyone saw what happened.

Willow was sure Finnegrin’s latest victim was now well known.

“Yes, I am very well attuned to the Earth arcanum.” And if she had to use it while in his service, then so be it. “Since you’re accompanying me, you should know, I have a place right outside the town. If you want part of your gold, then we’ll need to go there.” Finnegrin may be suspicious, and rightfully so, of her taking him out of Scumport, but she had things there she needed, including fetching part of her debt to him.

 

[Lucyfer]

'This is how I die, isn't it?'

The hallucination, real or not, was going to cause a panic attack. If she was lucky, maybe a heart attack to put her out of this. Callum wanted to know why it had to be sealed and of course she couldn't say she was hallucinating Aaravos. That was insane and didn't impact the others.

Unless it wasn't a hallucination, which she wasn't prepared to admit.

"There are reasons this was sealed, Callum," reasons she could have Zubeia mention, maybe, "but we can discuss it later, I imagine we're all leaving at the same time." This would delay her sealing it, at least for a bit, which ought to make them happy.

She still took another step back. "I'm just looking into magic theory – deep magic," she specified, "it has little to do with your search, which is significantly more important." She couldn't say what it was aloud, tongue catching on the words.

If he wasn't a hallucination….

"Deep magic? I've never heard of that," Rayla pointed out.

Kazi added, "I've heard of it, the theory of a true magic without the arcanum…."

"Oh! Maybe something like that could be helpful with killing Aaravos! Callum, what do you think?"

This was definitely how she died.

~***~

The little halfling was attuned! That would make her immensely more useful to him. Finnegrin gave a pleased hum at that revelation. "Always wondered if it was possible for you half breeds." The human in them could have easily gotten in the way.

He wasn't terribly suspicious of the request to go outside of the town. As they stepped into the light of day, he gave an agreeable nod. "Not surprised at all, you certainly couldn't have kept this up as long as you have if it was being held in on Scumport "

If she tried anything there, he'd just kill her there and take what he wanted from her home. He was fairly confident he'd already taught her enough of a lesson, and she certainly didn't have time to prepare anything for him. Even if an ambush would just make him laugh at this point.

He'd let her lead the way as they left Sea Legs, people eying them – mostly her – with a mix of pity and condemnation.

Finnegrin may be cruel – but he also kept order.

Control.

Plenty of people respected that. He, of course, acknowledged a few in passing. There would be no heroes for dear little Willow.

 

[cleopat]

Aaravos strolled up closer to Lethe and gently stroked her cheek with false kindness. “Oh come now, Lethe, you don’t want to hide my name again.” He didn’t know if she would be able to feel him, but she was fully aware of what he was doing. That was enough. “Don’t you miss me?”

And all this talk of killing him. As if that was possible. Many have tried already, and failed. That was why he was imprisoned. A feat only possible thanks to the elf that could see him.

The Skywing elf still didn’t look okay, which Callum slightly frowned at, but upon mention of deep magic, he perked up, forgetting that concern. “Woah, deep magic? I didn’t even know that existed.” Magic without the arcanum? He didn’t even know how that was possible.

But he was a walking impossibility with his connection to the Sky arcanum. Anything was possible!

“I mean if something like this is possible, then maybe it could be a key to killing Aaravos.” The elf in question scoffed at Callum’s theory. “Lethe, what was your research into deep magic about? Do you think there’s something that could help us?” He looked at her with hope that they were finally getting somewhere.

Kazi was already reading the scroll that was revealed, hoping to catch some clues as to where to look next.

~~~

Willow clenched her jaw when she heard the words ‘half breed.’ She hated the term, though it wasn’t by far the worst thing she’s been called. To her, it implied that she was less. Less of an elf. Less of a human. Never whole. But she was. “Please don’t call me half-breed,” she spoke calmly, as she’d done a thousand times before.

Some people listened, some didn’t, and those who didn’t were often the ones who ended up with an injury.

Fortunately, he easily accepted her need to go outside of Scumport. “We’ll go there first, to get that journey out of the way.” No, she wouldn’t have been able to keep her little enterprise going as long as she had without her mother’s place. She would have to tell Drake to keep an eye on it for her, to make sure it didn’t decay in her absence, or some trouble seeking asshole decided to roam around in it.

And the thought of utilizing the arcanum to incapacitate Finnegrin while they were there did cross her mind more than once, Willow convinced herself to stay out of trouble. If she slipped up, and he got free, she would experience that agonizing pain again, or something worse. He was no stranger to murder.

She ignored the looks people sent her way as she led him out of town. She was accustomed to many looks over the years, though they had stopped in the last few years, except for the occasional new person or visitor who had never seen a halfling before.

Behind Bright Hope Cove was a small path, overrun with vines and twisted roots which Willow moved out of the way, skin glowing with green cracks with the use of magic. The glow quickly dimmed and her skin returned to its normal color as she ventured on.

Not much further the house stood, surrounded by trees, with vines and flowers climbing up its outside walls. “I’m assuming you’ll be coming in?” It felt far too personal for Finnegrin to see such an intimate place that was her childhood home, but she didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Willow went in, assuming he would follow.

 

[Lucyfer]

Lethe went rigid under the caress. She couldn't feel it – she imagined it – but the visual was enough. Aaravos being that close was enough. It was hard not to turn and run. Hard not to squeak. Hard, simply, existing so close to his fury.

She tried not to look at him, adjusting her stance so she wasn't looking through him to the others. 'He's not real ' she knew otherwise but the lie was a false comfort.

Her gaze was unnecessarily intense on Callum in the effort to ignore Aaravos.

"It hasn't gotten very far. I'm still searching through texts about humans. Most theories about it involve dark magic, as no one really understands it or it's origins." She did. She felt it. That feeling was gone now and didn't best repeating or mentioning.

Another step back, but this time she turned away and Jove fluttered to follow. "Use your time wisely." Whether to follow her or stay with the revealed scrolls.

She couldn't stand another second.

"But–" Rayla started, frowned, and looked at Callum.

Amaya signed that they could stay and research Aaravos. He would better understand anything magic.

~***~

Finnegrin snorted at the suggestion he not use half breed. It only made him want to use it more, and he bit the inside of his cheek add her wondered how much use it would take for her to fuck it all up for herself.

He'd just have to find out.

And what other terms she hated.

"Whatever you say, halfie." He'd go back to half breed soon.

The home had some magical barriers but nothing that would have stopped Finnegrin. He wasn't perturbed by her use of magic, though he was a little surprised to see her skin glow. He hadn't known if she'd respond the way true elves did. Seeing skin like hers glow with cracks she didn't have was almost pretty.

He laughed at the query. "Oh, you're not getting out of my sight that easily." He went ahead of her, even, though would wait at the door rather than just knock it down and enter. He'd let her unlock it, of course.

"Don't worry love, I won't steal any objects. Well, unless it looks particularly useful but," he chuckled, "I doubt we have the same ideas of usefulness."

 

[cleopat]

Amaya stared at Lethe for a moment when the woman obviously tensed for no reason, staring at her nephew with some intensity she wondered about. The others hadn’t reacted to anything, so there was no creature she couldn’t hear. The cuddlemonkey was also still acting weird, glaring into space, but she would just claim Stella was being a weird creature.

Still, Amaya would keep an eye out on the Skywing elf.

Callum also regarded Lethe with slight concern, as she certainly didn’t look okay. Maybe she was just going through some things? They only just met. Anything was possible. And others…have stared at him before. That wasn’t anything new.

His shoulders did slump a little when she mentioned dark magic. “Oh.” He didn’t want anything to do with dark magic. The terror it brought…They would find another way.

She walked off, and Kazi waved everyone over. “I believe I have found something about killing an immortal here in this poem.”

With renewed spirits, Callum walked over to where Kazi stood to see what the poem was about.


Aaravos, while somewhat interested to see what the ragtime group would discover, he had far more interest in following the elf that could actually see and undoubtedly hear him. The cuddlemonkey would be far less entertaining as a guest with its shrieking.

“You haven’t even said hello yet, dear, even after the last time we saw each other, you helped imprison me in my eternal cell.” His smile belied the venom laced in his words. “You shouldn’t be so rude to an old friend.” He hissed out the last word.

Aaravos saw her as more than a friend, and those feelings he held festered over the centuries into something more grotesque as he patiently waited for the day he could finish his plans for freedom.

~~~

Oh, Finnegrin was definitely going to ignore her request. Willow could feel it in the way he called her a ‘halfie.’

She had a feeling she would be experiencing that freezing spell again one day. But it’d be worth it if she could get a punch in on him.

“Didn’t think I would be so lucky,” she mumbled, walking up to the door and unlocking it. Opening the door, she revealed the quaint little cottage, still with the flowers and mushrooms and crystal decorations that her mother placed in years ago.

Willow immediately went into her bedroom. In the middle of the room laid a rug, and she brushed aside the rug with one foot before kneeling down and lifting a loose floorboard, revealing a small compartment. In the compartment was a small bag filled with half the gold she had, that now belonged to Finnegrin.

She threw that on the bed while she gathered the rest of her items she couldn’t leave behind into a bag, such as clothes, and small pouches of dirt, pebbles, and crystals. For herself, to keep herself grounded while at sea. The bag was thrown over one shoulder, while a hand clutched the one with the money.

At the moment she finished packing, a small creature climbed into the open windowsill of her room, letting out a tiny squeak. Willow allowed a small smile, the first one since being dragged to Finnegrin’s office. “Paccu, you’re just in time to say goodbye. I’ll be…gone a while.” The pichi let out a sad squeak before rolling into a ball and rolling down into the room, stopping by her feet. She sighed, “You can’t come with me. The sea is no place for a pichi like you.”

It was no place for a half-Earthblood elf like herself, either.

 

[Lucyfer]

Blessedly, mention of dark magic quelled all of Callum's interest. He did not follow. Lethe felt immense relief at that, although also a pang. Something had happened to Callum for that "oh" to pass his lips.

Something personal.

Lethe couldn't dwell on the mysteries of what happened to the innocent child (or if he was so innocent, or if innocence could be taken by dark magic). No, the hallucination followed, because of course it did.

Hallucinations didn't linger where relevant information to their lives was being discussed. They followed the one who was having a crisis of reality!

Lethe pursed her lips together.

Responding wouldn't help.

Ignoring wouldn't help.

"You're not real," it was whispered, because it was crazy.

Jove still cocked his head as if she were speaking to him and let out a curious coo.

"You're just a hallucination. The real Aaravos is in his eternal prison and won't be released. I'll never see him again. You're just my guilty conscience."

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

She found the place she'd been sitting before and she picked up the book to return it. She'd find a far more distracting one.

~***~

Finnegrin followed in, gray eyes lazily going over the various trinkets and earthy things within. Indeed, their tastes differed drastically. Nothing in here would likely be useful for his thoughts and plans for Domina Profundis. Not that he expected that, but he he still felt disappointment over this fact

He let Willow gather things up while he found a wall to lean against that kept her sight, moving only when her ventures took her out of sight did he move and follow along, occasionally chuckling at some item she grabbed, mostly to annoy her with the thought he was judging get decisions and making note of them.

The thing he didn't chuckle at was the Paccu, and her abandonment. That was just…cruel.

"What is a child supposed to do without it's mother, die?" He shifted off the wall and knelt down, offering his hand out to the creature. Sure, it was a creature he could, and would, use against Willow…but it was also relatively innocent and he liked most animals.

Not all liked him.

And it never stopped him from using them. He did have to eat, after all. That's how the world was made, to devour.

"You can bring it along," he waggled his fingers for it to approach him.

 

[cleopat]

Aaravos grinned, a wide, cheshire grin, as Lethe continued to deny he was really there. That he was merely a hallucination her memory conjured up. “Oh, you may see me in the flesh sooner than you think,” he promised.

He strolled close to her and lifted one hand to gently stroke along her jaw. “And I never thought I would see you again, and yet here we are. You look just as beautiful as the day you betrayed me.”

Aaravos stepped back one step, but he wouldn’t let the distance between them be too great. “The least you can do is tell me what you’ve been up to these last three centuries, while I wasted away in an isolated prison, far from anyone to talk to.” The loneliness. The quietness. It was too loud and drove him closer and closer to insanity.

Some would say that may already be too late.

“Learn to attune to any other arcanums? How is your practice going with the Star Primal?” He clasped his hands behind his back as he slowly strolled around the room, looking at everything in the vicinity. It had been many years since before his imprisonment that he visited the Great Bookery.

~~~

Willow had largely ignored Finnegrin and his never wavering gaze. She was deep in her own thoughts to hardly recognize his little noises to some of the things she packed.

But when faced with leaving behind Pucca, her heart cried. So when Finnegran showed some…semblance of kindness and said to bring it along, she stared at him for a second in utter bewilderment. It was completely unexpected, and she looked down at Pucca, who stared at Finnegrin’s hand from a distance.

Clearing her throat, she said to Pucca, “So, do you think you’re ready for a life on a ship?” The Pichi looked up at her, and Willow swore the creature nodded its head at her. Then Pucca refocused on Finnegran’s hand, seemingly fascinated by the new scent of an unfamiliar elf, before it slowly crept over to him to satisfy its curiosity.

Did she consider that Finnegran would be cruel enough to do something to Pucca to hurt her? Yes, she did, but parting from the Pichi for potentially forever was an even greater heartache she didn’t want to experience.

She was already losing enough that day.

“Um…thanks,” Willow said softly and swiftly, as if she didn’t say it at all, before leaving her bedroom. She didn’t think he deserved the sentiment at all, but she might as well strive to get on his good side, and stay there.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘Guilt. That’s all it is. Guilt.’ Lethe turned her head as he reached to touch her jaw. Of course, he still did, and of course, she couldn’t feel it. She was losing her mind. ‘Just seal it back up. Stop the dark mages.’ But what if Callum and the others really did need the information? What if they didn’t find it here?

She walked by him to put the book back on the shelf she’d found it on, as he continued to follow, twisting her heart painfully. ‘You have enough books there.’ Maybe not for…three hundred years. How could anyone prepare for three hundred years? ‘You have enough food. It’s comfortable. It’s enough.’ It wasn’t enough.

Even she knew how social Aaravos was.

Definitely why the hallucination was a nuisance.

Her eyes went over the spines of books for titles of interest. Anything to stop her from acknowledging the hallucination as Jove continued to follow, concern oozing out of the bird as she was completely unable to hide how ruffled she was. She traced her finger along spines to try and focus harder. “I haven’t done much,” she still whispered, of course, “No one likes a traitor,” not even the ones who benefited.

She also expected to die much sooner than this.

She pulled a tome on Elarion. Certainly, there’d be something in here. “I haven’t learned much. The stars say little.” She had no teacher. Occasionally, she could read a spell in the way the stars moved, in the way they held position, but not many.

There were no books of spells she hadn’t, well…silenced. “Aaravos won’t be free,” softly said, as if Aaravos wasn’t there, as if she was speaking to someone else. Perhaps she could easily say she was speaking to Jove. “I’m sorry. What he was doing…he couldn’t stay free.” Yes, she was just talking to a hallucination of him. Perfectly normal to speak as if she wasn’t talking to him.

Just a hallucination.

Just Jove.

Jove was just baffled.

~***~

Pucca came close enough, and Finnegrin made no sudden movements. He let the pichi sniff his hand, smirking a bit at its timidness. He wouldn’t reach to pet it, just straightened up as its curiosity was satisfied, and Willow agreed to bring it along. He wouldn’t be leaving the thing stranded to die out here.

How heartless she’d nearly been!

He’d learn what the pichi needed to make sure it was fed. He took care of his crew. That included the animals, like his crabs. Hopefully, Deadwood had found some good shells for the growing one.

He heard the gratitude and chuckled, “You’re most welcome,” he followed out of the room, “I’ll take the gold now. And information on what the pichi needs to live. I’ll have to start providing for it. That’s going to take a bit out from what you earn, but I’m sure it’ll make the living on the ship part a bit easier.”

No doubt she wouldn’t mind parting with some of her earnings for that. She had to have guessed it, as well. “Are there any other stops we need to make to pick up the rest of the gold or your supplies?” It had sounded like it, but he’d still ask.

 

[cleopat]

Aaravos hummed as his eyes fell on the spines of the books, gazing in faux interest at the titles and subject of the books and scrolls. “Oh you poor thing, I bet your loneliness has been so heartwrenching,” he mockingly cooed, not at all sympathetic to what befell her.

And how could he? When he was stuck in a prison he didn’t even know where it was located.

“Oh, but the stars say a lot. You just have to learn how to read them better.” He weaved a heavy sigh. “Too bad you don’t have a teacher who could teach you even more.” Like he did once upon a time.

A student-teacher relationship that almost fell over the line of what was appropriate for a student and their teacher.

Aaravos chuckled at her continued insistence that he was a hallucination. She knew the truth. She was just in great denial of what was coming. “Oh, but my return is inevitable,” he promised. “I was doing everything for a greater purpose, and one day very soon, within just a few days, I will be able to restart my plans once more. And don’t you worry, my little Lethe, I will be sure to pay you a visit. I can’t neglect my greatest pupil, now can I?”

~~~

Willow stared a moment at the surprising softness Finnegrin showed towards Pucca. It made her…feel very weird. So she ignored it and focused on the demand. Oh yeah, the gold. The gold she had in a bag in her grip. “Here,” she handed him the bag.

She paused and kneeled back down to the floor, reaching one hand out to Pucca to call her over. The pichi came over, and Willow opened her bag. It may have held her clothes and other random things she couldn’t leave behind, but there was enough room for the pichi to travel in it. Much more convenient than having her scurry to follow them the entire time. “Come on, in you go. I know you like these rides, you lazy creature,” she said fondly, giving Pucca a little boop on the snoot after she crawled in.

Straightening back up, she turned back to Finnegrin. She fully expected that food for the pichi would be taken out of her earnings, but the elation she held over having the creature squashed any negative emotions she felt. “Pichis mainly eat bugs and vegetables.” Fairly easy.

“I have a small place in town. That’s where the rest of the gold is.” She still didn’t want to call it his gold, as Willow completely saw it as gold she earned fair and square. But to call it hers may invoke a reaction she wasn’t prepared for. “That’s the only thing I need to get from there.”

 

[Lucyfer]

If it had been mere loneliness, Lethe would have borne it easily. No, it was the…denial. That was what had stung the most. When it was all done, no one wanted anything to do with her. They wanted to deny she had helped, deny her sacrifices, deny everything, that she even existed, rather than accept what they’d placed upon her shoulders to do.

She resented them for it, still.

‘What a shame.’ She knew what Aaravos was trying to say. ‘I wouldn’t have learned at all if I never saw you….’ Never saw his temper break. Never saw everything about him break, in that one terrible moment when he realized he’d been betrayed – and it was too late. He was caught. That helpless rage…it was burned into her soul.

And with it, fear.

Fear that she knew she’d be torn to pieces if he was ever freed.

She walked back towards her chair, trying not to hear him as she took her seat. Trying to ignore the threat. “You’re a liar,” her voice shook on that, “you weren’t doing anything for anyone’s benefit but your own,” wait, now she was speaking as if it was him, wasn’t she? ‘Damnit.’ She pulled her knees up onto the chair and balanced her book over them as she opened it, refusing to look at him.

Jove hopped onto the chair besides her.

She couldn’t focus her eyes on the words. On the meanings. “You can neglect me. Please, neglect me.”

‘Go away. Go away. Go away.’

~***~

Finnegrin took the gold, and pocketed it immediately. No need to count it out, he could do so later. It wasn’t like he was purchasing anything with it now, or selling anything with it. He was just taking his due from the woman who’d tried to keep his profits away from him.

The pichi went into her bag, to be carried around. The affection was obvious. He wouldn’t fault that, and he took note of the foods, and made an agreeable hum. Those wouldn’t be hard items to get. Not while he was eternally in port, thanks to Domina Profundis.

One day….

“Then lead on! Let’s get the rest of your things so you can see to your room, and learn what your working days are going to look like,” he grinned, motioning her ahead once again, “there will be a lot of cleaning,” he noted, “newcomers always get cleaning duty, but don’t worry…there’s always some new that comes along.”

Someone who didn’t want to be along, but found themselves in the role anyways.

“You may even move up. With your eye and knowledge of the port, you might know how to find things I actually want,” he said, and would reach out to pinch her cheek if she didn’t move away fast enough, “Half breed like you might even be able to talk some human out of some dark magic tomes.”

 

[cleopat]

Grin widening, Aaravos chuckled. “You know I never lie.” And he didn’t, but that didn’t mean he told the whole truth. Some things he may leave out, or…simply reword things to sound like something completely else.

It wasn't his fault that someone interpreted his words differently than what was meant.

“Did you ever ask me directly what I was doing? What my ultimate plan was? No, you were following those who wanted me dead for a long time.” Like that damned dragon.

He knelt a little in order to get a better look at Lethe as she settled into her chair. Oh how he longed to touch her. Would he caress her soft skin? Would he wrap his hand around her delicate throat and watch the light fade from her eyes? Would he pull her into his embrace and finally do what he wanted to before her betrayal?

His anger still burned greatly, but so did that love he once held. Maybe he would do everything at once. “Oh, I could never neglect you, my little star.”

~~~

Ugh, cleaning. Her least favorite thing to do, and now she would be forced to do it daily under his threats. Willow also imagined she wouldn’t be getting as much sleep as she was used to, but she didn’t voice that concern. Then Finnegrin may just make sure to make that happen out of pure sadism.

She didn’t expect him to reach out, so she wasn’t able to escape the pinch. With a soft ‘ow,’ Willow flinched and glared at him. “Don’t call me half breed,” she hissed, stepping away from him to lead them back to town.

The pinpricks of yearning to make the earth swallow him whole began. Maybe she could do it. Or maybe she would fuck up the spell and Finnegrin would take his icy revenge. It was tempting to try.

Closing the door behind them, she turned back to Finnegrin with a look of slight confusion. “What do you want with dark magic tomes?” That…just did not bode well, and a great unease settled in her stomach at the possibilities. Why would he want to use dark magic? It was pure corruption and terror.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘You had every chance to tell me. You had every chance to explain yourself.’ Lethe tried to focus on the words even as the glimmering elf came closer and knelt before here. She glared at the words, to avoid glaring at him. Avoid looking at him. ‘But if you ever told me the truth, you knew I wouldn’t follow you. And you needed followers.’

He needed sycophants. That was likely what those dark mages were. More people he had lured with false promises of dreams and wonders, of magic and understanding – truths beyond this world!

His gaze was too much to bear, even if she wasn’t looking at him.

She shut her eyes, tears welling – frustration, anger, regret – no single emotion spurred them, but she couldn’t get rid of them, so she just tried to keep them from falling. There were still real people around who would become alarmed if they saw tears for no apparent reason. How was she supposed to explain she was arguing with a hallucination?

“I know what you did, Aaravos. Aditi. Luna Tenebris. So many others. So much senseless murder. I want no part. I regret that I ever was a part of it. I’m not yours,” how she used to enjoy being called that, even if she’d claim she wasn’t. Not until she learned the star arcanum. Not until he was a good enough teacher to teach her that!

Now she knew, didn’t she? Now she was. “I don’t want this.” That didn’t matter. She was stuck with it. He’d been suffering for 300 years, alone. It was only right she had to suffer now.

~***~

Obviously, Finnegrin was going to continue with half-breed. The fact Willow didn’t get that was only too amusing, but he didn’t state that. She understood, even if she hated it. She’d have to get over her hatred, or suffer eternally under the name-calling. That was just how it worked. She shouldn’t have shown the weakness.

The dark magic was enough to turn her attention from that furious anger, though.

No surprise. Human contact may have resumed legally, but dark magic was still banned all around. Well, maybe not in some human kingdoms, but Finnegrin was pretty sure it was almost completely banned. It would have been a requirement of the dragons, if nothing else, to start relations up with humanity again.

“Dark magic killed Avizandum,” as anyone who knew anything, knew, “I want to kill Domina Profundis. She killed my Shelley, for no reason worth its salt,” her vengeance should have been against him, not Shelley. He didn’t even bother hiding that intent as they walked. It didn’t matter what he said while he was stuck in port. It didn’t even matter if Domina heard!

She wouldn’t do anything, until he was a mile out at sea.

And when he was…he’d be ready to take her down.

 

[cleopat]

Aaravos carefully studied her face as she tried to mask the emotions spilling from her eyes. Once upon a time, he would’ve reached a hand up to wipe away those tears and help her think of far more pleasant things

Now? There was some twisted satisfaction, but there was also that old feeling stirring deep within him. To wipe away the tears.

But Lethe thought she had him figured out, and that brought back the simmering fury. “You know that I did it, yes. But did you ever ask why? Did you ever ask for my reasons instead of assuming everything they said was law? That there was no bias in their accusations?” His voice slowly rose as he spoke, showing more and more of his evident anger, but he simmered back down.

“Everything I did was for a reason, I promise you that. I thought you were curious to learn about much, but apparently you weren’t curious enough to figure out those reasons.” He sighed, straightening back up. “You don’t want this, you say? Well, I didn’t want to live in complete isolation for three hundred years. I didn’t want my pupil to commit the ultimate betrayal.”

Aaravos sighed and shook his head. “Too bad we never get what we want.”

~~~

Willow cocked her head slightly as Finnegrin explained his reasons for wanting dark magic. To kill a dragon, for destroying his ship. His beloved crab. She supposed to lose both would warrant great anger and desire for vengeance.

And she didn’t exactly hold any positive feelings for dragons. Her human side held great disdain for them all, and the earthblood elves saw the dragons as creatures to tame. They held too much power and caused too much agony. Centuries of agony.

“If you had this tome, would you perform the spell yourself? Or would you seek out the assistance of a dark mage?” As they left the path, Willow turned back to place the vines and roots back into their place, her skin taking on the green cracks as she did so.

Back to the town and her new future.

“What happened that made her destroy Shelley?” Willow sensed there was an untold part of the story, but she would also accept a story that the archdragon just wanted to cause misery and chaos. “Knowing the dragons, the punishment did not fit the crime.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Aaravos never lost his temper – except that once, when the full fury of his temper could do nothing against what was happening. To hear it now was somehow all the more convincing that this was real, and not a hallucination. Three hundred years was a long time to simmer in impotent rage, but it was still a surprise.

She still winced as his tone raised and opened her eyes to find him again.

Jove, of course, still did not see him. And Jove had fluttered closer, pressing his head against her shoulder to try and get her attention off whatever was agitating her. Not that it worked very well when the startouch elf reminded her neither of them would get what they wanted. ‘No, we won’t. We’re both traitors.’

“You’re right,” it was with a terribly distressed chuckle, no matter how quiet she still kept it, “this is just what we traitors get it.” He had betrayed them – Aditi, Luna Tenebris. They had trusted him, they had all trusted him, because he was a startouch elf, one of the Great Ones, and he shattered that trust.

The same way she had.

It was just what befell traitors, no matter how good their intentions. “I suppose I’ll get used to it,” and used to ignoring him, but only if she practiced.

Isolation was his hell.

He was hers.

Perfect.

She forced her eyes to the book, wiping away at the tears.

She forced herself to read.

~***~

Willow wasn’t upset by his reasoning. Quite the opposite…she seemed to think dragons deserved it, which wasn’t something he could say of most people of Xadia. Not even humans, nowadays, though plenty didn’t like them. They were learning to accept, and that, in Finnegrin’s opinion, was stupid.

They were forgetting all the harm dragons caused them, and didn’t know the harm dragons caused those of Xadia.

“I don’t know,” Finnegrin said. “I’ve never performed dark magic,” he didn’t have a teacher. He wasn’t sure if it was something he wanted to do, either. He would, for Shelley, but he might prefer someone else to do it. “You heard what happened in Lux Aurea? They say that’s all dark magic, impacting creatures with arcanum like you and I. They’re calling it an infection. Ha!” Although, there might be truth to it, “The sunfire elves had to kill their own. There was no coming back. If that’s what happens when an elf uses dark magic, I’d rather not find out,” but he didn’t think that was quite right.

He'd heard human mages went through a sickness.

Perhaps this was just what happened when the sickness wasn’t managed.

“As for Domina,” he waved his hand, “she knew I was hunting leviathans. What sailor worth his salt doesn’t? They’re large, they feed us for a long time – but no, apparently we can’t eat leviathans. She’s been attacking any ship that comes out, it’s why the price of leviathan meat has skyrocketed. She thought destroying my ship would keep me tame.”

Far from it.